[10/13] Denver Set for BIG EAST Semifinal vs Villanova

DENVER – The [10/13] The University of Denver women’s lacrosse team will begin postseason play on Thursday afternoon when the top-seeded Pioneers take on the fourth-seeded Villanova Wildcats for the first of two BIG EAST Semifinals at 11a.m. MT/1:00 p.m. ET on BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports.

Thursday’s winners will take on the winner of second-seeded UConn and third-seeded Georgetown on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT/12 p.m. ET on FS2.

The Pioneers are in pursuit of their fourth consecutive Big East Tournament title, a streak dating back to 2021.

SERIES HISTORY:
Denver is 11-0 against Villanova, including an 11-8 victory over the Wildcats on April 20 to secure the Pios’ fifth consecutive BIG EAST Regular season title. The two teams will face off in the semifinal round for the second consecutive year. Denver defeated Villanova 12-7 last May in Connecticut to advance to the BIG EAST Championship game.

THE LAST TIME OUT: Denver’s regular season finale against Xavier was canceled due to snowy spring weather. The Pioneers defeated [8] Yale on April 22nd, 12-11, in Philadelphia, Penn. Lauren Black notched a career-high eight points, with five goals and three assists, including the game-winning buzzer beater. Goalkeeper Emelia Bohi made seven saves.

2024 CAPTAINS:

• The Pioneers selected graduate students Sam Thacker and Julia Gilbertsenior Anna Palmisano and Sloane Kipp and redshirt junior Raegan Wilson as their 2024 captains.
• The 2023 National Defender of the Year Sam Thacker owns the program record for career caused turnovers at 184.
• Gilbert led the Pioneers with 59 goals and 67 points last season. She was recognized as an IL and USA Lacrosse Magazine Second-Team All American, a member of the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, All-Big East First Team and IWLCA West/Midwest Region Second team honoree.
• Palmisano brings experience to the ‘hot pink’ defense and has started in every game the last three seasons.
• Kipp was third on the DU squad last season with 57 shots on goal and a .429 shooting percentage with three game-winning goals during the 2023 Championship Weekend run.
• Before missing the second half of the season with an injury, Wilson earned 17 goals and four assists.

WORK IN THE DRAW CIRCLE

• Denver has a 214-183 advantage in the draw circle this season.
• Senior draw specialist Abby Jenkins leads the Pioneers with 70 this season.
• Jenkins hauled in 10 in the Pioneers’ win over Butler on April 10, her first double-digit output this season and the eighth of her career.

PENOYER THE DISTRIBUTOR

• Yale graduate student transfer Olivia Pennoyer leads the team and is ranked 14th in the country in assists with 40.
• Her 40 assists ranks eighth in the Pioneer record books for most assists in a single season.
• Penoyer has 3+ assists in nine games this season.
• Penoyer had back-to-back five assist games in BIG EAST wins over Marquette (April 6) and at Bulter (April 10), one shy of her career-high six which she produced three times in her time with the Bulldogs.
• In her career at Yale, Penoyer broke Yale’s career assists record, finishing her time in New Haven with 106 in her career.
• Among active players in NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse, Penoyer ranks fifth in career assists with 146.

LIMITING SHOT ATTEMPTED

• Denver held Butler to just 13 shots on April 10 in Indianapolis.
• It was the lowest shots allowed for the Pioneers since holding Georgetown to 10 on April 22, 2023.
• The Georgetown total last season was Denver’s lowest since allowing just eight shots at Coastal Carolina on March 11, 2020, the final game before the COVID-19 Pandemic.

CASHING IN ON FREE-POSITIONS

• Denver went 4-for-5 from the free-position arc on April 14 vs. Arizona State, the program’s second best free-position percentage this season. The four FPS tallies matched Denver’s 4-for-4 day against Colorado on April 3.
• The Pioneers finished with as many as 8 free-position goals twice last season.

WOMAN-UP TALLIES

• Denver scored six times in woman-up situations on February 25 against San Diego State, its most in a game in the program’s Division I history.
• The Pioneers have finished with 4+ woman-up goals four times in 2024 (chart on right), more than the rest of its DI history combined.

FORCING TURNOVER

• Denver has had double digit turnovers in 12 games this season.
• The Pioneers finished with double-digit caused turnovers in all but one game last season (4/8/23 at UConn).

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