'Bit Of A Trap Game': Pios Prepare For Tournament Play Without Teammate
DENVER (CBS4) - The DU Pioneerss will begin the Big East tournament on Thursday when they take on Marquette in Villanova, PA.
The two teams are very familiar with each other considering they just played on Saturday. The Pios beat the Golden Eagles 7-4 at Peter Barton Stadium to close out the regular season.
This will be the third straight year that Marquette and DU meet in the Big East tournament, and the last two seasons Marquette has beaten DU.
"Marquette always plays us tough," said DU faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste. "It's a little bit of a trap game playing the same team so close, but we're really excited and we're really focused on this one because we know it's something we haven't done the past two years."
The Pios will be without long stick midfielder Sean Mayle for the rest of the season after he was ruled ineligible.
"Because of the University of Denver's unique academic quarter system, we have to monitor our academic success twice during the regular season. Due to a technicality with a course that Sean repeated and passed, the school and NCAA have deemed him ineligible," DU Head Coach Bill Tierney said via the school's release.
Mayle was selected 6th overall in the 2018 MLL Collegiate Draft in April.
"Not having no. 6 on the field is a huge loss for our program, especially in light of our potential playoff run, but all appeals have been exhausted," added Tierney.
The Pios and Golden Eagles will take the field at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Michael Spencer is a Sports Anchor at CBS4. Read his bio or connect with him on Twitter @MichaelCBS4.
