BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Sophomore Ilija Gajic (Burnaby, B.C.) recorded an unassisted goal with 40 seconds remaining in the game for the game winner, as the University of Denver men's lacrosse team topped No. 8 Notre Dame 9-8 on Saturday afternoon at Toyota Park in the Great Western Lacrosse League home opener.

"This is a great way to begin conference play," head coach Jamie Munro said. "And now we are on a roll going into our final home weekend. These guys never gave up today, even when we were down 6-1. This team has shown a fight all season and today it paid off."

The Pioneers (7-4, 1-0 GWLL) trailed 3-0 in the first when freshman Jamie Lincoln (St. Cathariens, Ontario), on an assist from Gajic, put DU on the board. Denver trailed 6-1 before rattling off five unanswered goals to pull even with the Fighting Irish (7-2, 1-1 GWLL). Notre Dame took a 7-6 lead before junior Cliff Smith (Surrey, B.C.) recorded his second goal of the game to knot the game at 7-7.

The Pioneers found themselves down 8-7 in the fourth but Lincoln notched his third goal of the game, his third hat trick in as many games, to tie the game with 6:49 remaining. DU had a chance to take the lead with 3:42 remaining in the game but senior Brett Koll's (Fort Collins, Colo.) shot went wide. Smith's shot with 1:19 remaining was stopped by ND's goalie Joey Kemp.

Gajic scored with 40 second remaining to give the Pioneers' their only lead of the game. Junior goalie Austin Konkel (Aurora, Colo.) stopped a shot by Grant Kerbs with 19 seconds remaining to keep the Fighting Irish off the board.

Konkel had 11 saves in the game, while Lincoln had three goals and one assist for the Pioneers to lead the team in scoring. ND's Ryan Hoff had a hat trick, recording three goals in the contest. DU wraps up the 2008 home campaign next weekend hosting Quinnipiac on Friday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Bellarmine on Sunday, April 13 at 1:30 p.m.

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – An Ilija Gajic goal with 40 seconds remaining in regulation gave No. 19 Denver a 9-8 victory over seventh-ranked Notre Dame in Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) play on Saturday afternoon at Toyota Park. Junior attackman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) led the Irish with three goals, while sophomore midfielder Grant Krebs (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's) had two scores.

Notre Dame (7-2, 1-1) jumped out to a 6-1 lead with 5:02 remaining in the first half, yet Denver (7-4, 1-0) would score five straight goals to knot the game at the 3:58 mark of the third quarter. The game's next four goals alternated between both teams before Gajic put home the game-winner for the Pioneers.

The Fighting Irish opened the contest with a 3-0 lead behind goals from Krebs, Duncan Swezey (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) and Hoff. Denver's Jamie Lincoln scored his first of three goals to make it a 3-1 game at the end of the first quarter.

A goal from Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) ignited another 3-0 run for Notre Dame. Hoff followed to make it 5-1 and Krebs capped off the surge with his second tally of the day. The first of the Pioneers' five unanswered goals came from Mike Anderson with 1:31 left in the opening half. The Irish led 6-2 at the intermission.

Goals from Lincoln, Brett Koll, John Dickenson and Cliff Smith for Denver evened up the contest (6-6) with just under four minutes left in the third period. Notre Dame regained the lead with a goal from Dan Gibson (Germantown, Tenn./Memphis University School), yet the Pioneers came back with tally from Smith to make it a 7-7 game after three quarters.

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2008-04-05