March 21, 2008

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook plays a second straight game at home for the first time this season as the Seawolves host Denver in LaValle Stadium. Game time is scheduled for Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The game will be a contest between two #20 teams; Stony Brook is #20 in the Inside Lacrosse/Nike media poll while Denver is #20 in the USILA Coaches poll. It is also the second of a season-high three consecutive home games for the Seawolves this season. Stony Brook will be looking to make it three-in-a-row in the win column as well against the Pioneers. After upsetting #7 Delaware on the road a week ago, Stony Brook came out on top against Lafayette, taking a 12-8 victory on Tuesday. The second of a two-game road swing that went from Denver to Dallas and now to New York, Denver will be looking to break a two-game losing streak. On Tuesday in Dallas, the Pioneers dropped a 20-7 decision to #7 Cornell.

The Series

While the two schools are separated by nearly 2,000 miles, this will be the sixth meeting in a series that dates all the way back to 1987. Stony Brook has had the upper hand in the previous meetings, winning all five of those contests. The Seawolves and Pioneers have played in each of the last two seasons; both times saw Stony Brook upset a top-20 Denver squad. Last season in the Mile-High city Bo Tripodi scored four goals as the Seawolves came home with an 11-8 victory. This will be just the second game in the series played at Stony Brook with the other coming in 2006, a 9-6 Seawolf victory.

A Look at the Pioneers

Denver comes into Stony Brook with a 3-4 record, playing one of the most difficult schedules in the country so far. All seven previous opponents are either ranked or "also getting votes" in one of the top-20 polls and the game against the Seawolves will be the second straight and fifth overall against a ranked opponent. Jamie Lincoln leads Denver in scoring with 14 goals so far this season. Both he and Cliff Smith (9 goals) are the only two players to have taken over 40 shots this year. In goal the Pioneers have Austin Konkel who ranks among the top-30 in the nation in goals against average (8.32) and save percentage (.546) coming into this week's games. The Stony Brook game will be the third on the road for the Pioneers where they are 0-2 this season.