Pioneers win 1st men's lacrosse title
— -- PHILADELPHIA -- Denver won its first NCAA men's lacrosse championship, beating Maryland 10-5 on Monday behind five goals from senior Wesley Berg.
Berg was chosen as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He ended the season with a team-record 58 goals.
The victory gave coach Bill Tierney his record seventh title. He won six with Princeton.
Denver, which plays in the Big East Conference, became the first team outside the Eastern Time Zone to win the NCAA lacrosse title.
Zach Miller added a goal and two assists for Denver. The fourth-seeded Pioneers (17-2) beat top-seeded Notre Dame in overtime in the semifinals Saturday.
Maryland made its third appearance in the past five national title games but fell to 2-10 all-time in championship games.
Denver took a 4-1 lead in the first quarter as Berg scored the Pioneers' first three goals.
Goalie Ryan LaPlante kept the Terrapins (15-4) at bay with six saves over the first two quarters.
Denver held a 5-3 lead at halftime. After an empty possession for the Terps to begin the third quarter, Miller recovered a rebound and sent a shot past Maryland goalie Kyle Bernlohr with 11:43 left in the period.
Miller's first goal of the game set the tone for the rest of the half, and Denver's defense continued to frustrate Maryland.
Just over three minutes later, Colin Woolford scored his 10th goal of the season for the Pioneers.
Berg scored on an assist from Miller for an 8-3 lead.
Maryland entered the game with a 4-0 record against Denver all-time. But the Terps have struggled offensively this season and again had trouble scoring.
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
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