No. 1 Denver; No. 2 Georgetown Square Off In Saturday’s 2019 BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship
BIG EAST Championship Notes (PDF)
DENVER, Colo. – BIG EAST Championship Saturday has arrived and with it a rematch of the 2018 and 2015 BIG EAST Championship title games between No. 1 seed Denver and No. 2 seed Georgetown. The Hoyas enter the game as the defending BIG EAST men’s lacrosse championship title-holder. Ben Holden and Steve Panarelli will be on the call on Saturday with the championship game starting at 2:30 p.m. MT (4:30 p.m. ET) on CBSSN.
The 2019 tournament is being held at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in Denver, Colo. The championship was also played in Denver in 2016.
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have met in the championship game five times previously in the short history of the tournament (2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013). The No. 1 seed has won just twice in seven tournaments. Both times, it was Denver (2015, 2014).
The BIG EAST has had only four champions. Three of the champions have won back-to-back titles: Syracuse (2012, 2013), Denver (2014, 2015) and Marquette (2016, 2017). Georgetown is the defending champion, Saturday will see if the trend follows suit.
NCAA berths are at stake as the championship winner will earn the BIG EAST’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The runner up will await their fate to be a potential at-large selection in ESPNU’S Selection Show on Sunday, May 5 at 9 p.m. ET.
BIG EAST Champion: No. 2 Georgetown at No. 1 Denver
2:37 p.m. MT (4:37 p.m. ET)/CBSSN
Live Stats
In The BIG EAST Championship: Series tied at 1-1: met in 2015, 2018 Championship games
2019 Regular-Season: Denver won, 16-9 (at Denver, March 30).
Georgetown and Denver have met twice previously in the BIG EAST Championship final, both played at Villanova. Georgetown won 8-3 as the No. 2 seed last year; but Denver won 16-8 in 2015, en route to a national championship. Denver has played in four BIG EAST men’s lacrosse championship finals and head coach Bill Tierney has a 7-3 record. Georgetown’s Kevin Warne is 4-2 in the tournament.
En route to Saturday’s championship, Denver defeated Villanova, 17-11. Austin French, Colton Jackson and Ethan Walker each netted a hat trick for the Pioneers. French and Walker also added an assist. Freshman faceoff specialist Brett Boos went 16-of-32 from the faceoff dot with three ground balls. The win was the 100th win at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium by the Pioneers. The Pioneers (10-4) scored 12 goals to Villanova’s three in the first half.
Georgetown defeated Providence in the first semifinal, 13-12. Georgetown midfielder Lucas Wittenberg paced the way in points as he recorded a game high nine on a stadium record eight assists. He also added a goal. Georgetown junior attacker Jake Carraway netted a hat trick for the Hoyas (12-4). Declan McDermott scored the game-winning goal with 7:06 left in the fourth quarter, capping a 4-0 Hoya run to secure the victory.
Earlier this season, Denver defeated Georgetown, 16-9. It was a battle of the ranked teams as the Pios were No. 9 in the country, Georgetown No. 19. Denver’s Austin French had four goals with two assists. Ethan Walker had a hat trick and added two assists for five points. Georgetown’s Jake Carraway had two goals and two assists.
BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by Jeep
Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
Denver, Colo.
Semifinals - Thursday, May 2
No. 2 Georgetown 13, No. 3 Providence 12 (
Box Score)
No. 1 Denver 17, No. 4 Villanova 11 (
Box Score)
Final – Saturday, May 4
No. 2 Georgetown at No. 1 Denver, 4:30 p.m. ^
All Times Eastern
^ CBSSN