DENVER, Colo. (2/16/08)—Colgate University junior Brandon Corp (Chittenango, N.Y.) tallied five points on three goals and two assists, but it was not enough to as the 16th-ranked men’s lacrosse team fell to No. 20 Denver 15-5 at Barton Lacrosse Stadium in the season opener. Cliff Smith led the Pioneers with a game-high five goals.

 

Corp put the Raiders in front with a man-up score just 51 seconds into the game. Sophomore Zack Craumer (Greenwich, Conn.) provided the assist on the goal to register his first collegiate point.   

 

Denver (1-0) responded in a big way, as the Pioneers rattled off seven unanswered goals for the six-goal lead with 11:34 remaining in the second quarter. Three different players had two goals during that stretch for Denver, while the Pioneers held Colgate to just five shots in the first quarter.

 

Corp stopped the run 16 seconds later off of a pass from rookie midfielder Jim Carroll (Nesconset, N.Y.). Denver’s Jaime Lincoln sparked a three-goal run with a pair of scores before Raider junior Kevin Colleluori (Bethpage, N.Y.) got on the board with a goal to make it a 10-3 game with 2:43 remaining in the third quarter. Corp set up the score to earn his third point of the game.

 

Denver answered with a goal 59 seconds later to pull ahead by eight, 11-3 in the final minute of the third frame. Colleluori and Corp combined again 35 seconds later to make it a seven-goal game again, but the Pioneers would score the final goal of the quarter to head into the final stanza in front 12-4.

 

The Raiders wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. Senior Chris Eck (Fairfield, Conn.) won the opening faceoff and found Corp. Corp took the pass and beat the Austin Konkel for his third goal of the game.

 

Denver continued to stifle the Colgate offense in the final quarter, holding the Raiders to just three more shots. The Pioneers closed out the game with three goals, including two from Ilija Gajic.

 

Freshman Jaime Lincoln added four goals for the Pioneers in the victory. Gajic and Brett Koll both added three points from two goals and an assist, while six other players got on the scoreboard.

 

Sophomore goaltender Tim Harrington (Lutherville, Md.) made a career-high 24 stops in the loss, while Denver goalie Austin Konkel had six saves in 60 minutes of action.

 

The Denver defense limited a potent Raider offense to just 27 shots, including just 12 in the first half. The Pioneers had 48 shots in the contest. Denver’s man-down defense was outstanding, holding the Raiders to just two goals on seven extra-man opportunities. Eck went 9-of-18 at the faceoff X and Colgate won 12-of-23 restarts overall. The Pioneers won the groundball battle 28-20.

 

Colgate returns to action on Feb. 24, traveling to play Ohio State. That game is set for 12 p.m., in Columbus.