DU Lacrosse Team Returns Home As National Champs: 'This Is Everybody's Dream'

DENVER (CBS4)- The University of Denver lacrosse team returned home Monday night as NCAA champions but it might take a while for reality to set in for the team.

"It was unbelievable. It kind of hit us all at once on the plane because it's such an unbelievable event you work so long for and then to have it actually happen is just a ridiculous feeling," said DU lacrosse goalie Ryan LaPlante. "We're all speechless and now those emotions are coming out. It's really cool."

LaPlante is a goalie on the team and also from Fort Collins. He said bringing the NCAA trophy home was an amazing experience, "This is everybody's dream, this is why they come to this school."

The Pioneers beat Maryland 10-5 to secure the school's 30th overall national championship on Monday.

The victory didn't come easy and the team knew it was something they would have to work hard to realize.

When asked when they knew they had the game, LaPlante responded, "With 50 seconds left. We weren't comfortable until we scored that empty netter and then that was just all credit to Maryland that we knew that they had come back on runs all year and as a team we had watched them come back in multiple games over the years so we just didn't want to get them in a spot where they could come back. We tried to take away their momentum and I think that's what we did in the third quarter."

After Monday's win, many DU students feel it's the start of something special. As the team's social media account claims, Denver is the "Lacrosse Capital of the West."

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"People are excited for us to be home. Our school has so much student support and support from the university and the teachers, the professors, all the administration that were with us, it's just unbelievable the support that this program has," said LaPlante.

For the first time ever, an NCAA men's lacrosse championship is headed to a school west of the Mississippi River.

"We've broken the curse of Atlantic states winning the national championship so it's definitely a forefront for lacrosse and the future of this sport," LaPlante.

A big party is planned for Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.