SMI SPORTS / May 25, 2015I

PHILADELPHIA (SMI-WIRE,05.25.15)The Denver University men's lacrosse team made history today by defeating the Maryland Terrapins, 10-5 in the 2015 NCAA Div I Men's Lacrosse Final championship game in front of 25,824 fans & winning their first ever national crown @ Lincoln Financial Field, in Philadelphia.Denver's Wesley Berg scored five goals finishing the season with 58 goals & was named the tournament outstanding player and Ryan LaPlante made 13 saves  in the championship fianl game which became the first school from the west coast to win the championship in its 45-year history.."Just like Wesley carried us on his back for a few games here, I feel like we were carrying a burden around and now it's off," Tierney said. "And now we move on ".

The Pioneers are known for their offensive diversity, but they rode a lockdown defense to seal Monday's game. Denver never trailed, and held the sixth-seeded Terrapins (15-4) scoreless for 20:23 before the Terrapins tossed in a harmless goal with 32.6 seconds remaining.Matt Rambo, Maryland's leading scorer, had two goals and an assist as Christian Burgdorf marked him, while Carson Cannon helped hold midfielder Joe LoCascio to an assist and just three shots.

Berg, the hero of Saturday's overtime semifinal victory over Notre Dame, quickly asserted himself with a goal 40 seconds into the game. He completed his hat trick in less than 10 minutes, and the Pioneers had the luxury of dictating tempo from that point.Denver took a 5-3 edge into the break, then rattled off the first three goals of the second half to all but seal it. Berg scored the first and last goals of the day in his final collegiate game, an appropriate cap to a career featuring a school-record 188 goals and a central place in program glory.

Bill Tierney :Denver Head Coach Comments at Postgame Press-Confernce:

Congrtulations to the University of Maryland for their coaching staff and their players,for what they did to get to this game, to beat all the wonderful teams they did, and they are just really tough, especially at the defensive end team to handle.And we're just blessed and thankful to be here. Thank You !

Media/Press Question: What's the win mean for Denver, the school ?

Bill Tierney:" One of the things I was really stunned at when I went out to Denver, is that and no discredit to anybody here, please butwas huge momentum, because we had kind of gone flat there offensively for a while".

Media/Press Question: Comments on being the first coach to win a national championship with two Division I programs ?

Bill Tierney: " We talk about this the other day. It's not about me.It's about the being in a situation like I was at Princeton, we did pretty well, and it was time to move on".It was time to go on to a new challenge, something very exciting and very special, and now being at a place with a group of young men that refused to lose."And I don't mean, I'm

not downplaying that.But some day when I go to my grave I don't want them putting on my headstone how many national championships I had, I want them to put on my headstone that my players loved me".