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Brothers Bring Double Trouble To DU Lacrosse Opponents

DENVER (CBS4) - There's nothing wrong with a little sibling rivalry.

"We are definitely competitive, always trying to outdo each other," said Connor Cannizzaro, a sophomore on the University of Denver lacrosse team.

"Very competitive," said older brother Sean Cannizzaro, a senior on the team. "Lots of backyard battles growing up."

The Cannizzaro brothers are from Cazenovia, New York, where they played on the same high school team for two seasons. For college, Sean chose Denver, and two years later Connor chose Maryland where he was named the 2014 ACC Freshman of the Year.

"At first I wanted to do my own thing," Connor said. "I went to Maryland, but it wasn't the right fit for me."

So Connor decided to transfer, and after visiting DU, decided to become teammates with Sean for one more season.

"It has been awesome playing with him again," said Sean. "When he went to Maryland I didn't know if we ever would again, but now that we are we are clicking again."

Connor Cannizzaro
Connor Cannizzaro (credit: CBS)

And Connor has been quite the pickup for the Pioneers. He leads the team in goals (53) and assists (31) and his 84 points are a new DU single season record. Meanwhile, Sean is fifth on the team in scoring, but says he doesn't mind playing a supporting role to the team's new superstar.

"I know how good of a player he is so I never felt like I would get overshadowed or anything," Sean said. "When someone is that good he will get the attention and I am totally okay with it."

"I think we push each other," Connor said. "He pushes me and I think I push him. And once the game begins all we care about is winning."

Sean Cannizzaro
Sean Cannizzaro (credit: CBS)

And the Pioneers have done plenty of winning this season. DU has won 10 straight games and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for a fifth straight season with a shot at the program's first national title very much within reach.

"It would be a dream come true," said Sean. "We talked about since we were five or six and if we could pull that off it would be amazing."

"It has been an amazing experience playing together his senior year," said Connor. "We have a couple more weeks and I think we have a good shot at (winning it all)."

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