Denver 2020

[Puck Swami]

I would love to see a double-deck Barton with 2,000 seats above the current grandstand, including an adult-fan party deck, AND the 1,000 additional student seats in the East end zone with a party deck for students, to bring total capacity to 5,000. Probably $20 million for both, but hey, it's my fantasy. And once DU starts selling our 5K seats per game and leading the nation in average attendance, then build the north grandstand, too!

That said, if only $10 million can be raised, build the 1,000 end zone seats and a party deck. It would be an amazing addition, and giving it over to the students would be epic. The 500-600 students who DU attend games now would easily grow to 800-1000 if they had their own space adjacent to the massive tailgate parties they throw on game days...

[admin]

Denver has their First Team Run this Weekend. And this is where they’ll be running. Just one more example of why recruiting is a little bit easier for Coach Tierney.



http://fanlax.com/fanlax/2019/09/05/d1- ... s-weekend/

[3rdPersonPlural]

Denver has their First Team Run this Weekend. And this is where they’ll be running. Just one more example of why recruiting is a little bit easier for Coach Tierney.



http://fanlax.com/fanlax/2019/09/05/d1- ... s-weekend/

Running stadiums? One heck of a workout, but the stairs at Red Rock are not 'stride-intuitive'.

The tread-to-riser ratio there is well suited to middle aged patrons bearing cups, but hobbles college athletes trying to get their exercise on.

(Just a random observation from a former stadium jockey....)

[No Tilt]

long stride + quick feet on each! just work harder than the other guy.

[DU-fan]

Inside Lacrosse's annual Recruiting Issue is out and ranked the top 100 incoming freshman, including our No.1 Face-Off Midfielder, Alec Stathakis.

In the top 100 for Denver are:

#4 Alec Stathakis Face Off Culver (#1 FO)


#19 JJ Stillstrop Attack La Costa Canyon (#5 Attack)



#90 Reed Babcock Attack Regis Jesuit (#22 Attack)

#92 Jack Thompson Goalie Rock Canyon (#6 Goalie)



Quinn Marquez is ranked #47 in the Midfield ranking

[AreaLax]

Looks like Denver is releasing their schedule tomorrow

[DU-fan]

Nice to see the schedule posted early with high profile marquee games against Michigan, Delaware, Duke, UNC, and Towson. Will also be great games against St. Bonaventure, Cleveland State, St. John's, and Marquette. Including fall scrimmages, there will be 10 home games to watch. Far better than last year's never ending road schedule.

It will be a long time before Duke (2024) and UNC (2025) come back to Denver. At least we will have home games in 2021 against OSU and Notre Dame.

Home games:
10/13/19 - Men's Lacrosse vs Michigan Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
10/19/19 - Men's Lacrosse vs Alumni Game Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
2/1/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Delaware Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
2/15/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Duke Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
2/22/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs St. Bonaventure Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
2/23/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Cleveland State Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
3/1/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs North Carolina Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
3/21/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Towson Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
4/11/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs St. John's Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
4/24/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Marquette Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium

Full Schedule:
10/5/19 - Men's Lacrosse vs Syracuse Cortland, N.Y.
10/13/19 - Men's Lacrosse vs Michigan Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
10/19/19 - Men's Lacrosse vs Alumni Game Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
2/1/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Delaware Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
2/8/20 - Men's Lacrosse at Air Force Colorado Springs, Colo.
2/15/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Duke Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
2/22/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs St. Bonaventure Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
2/23/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Cleveland State Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
3/1/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs North Carolina Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
3/7/20 - Men's Lacrosse at Notre Dame South Bend, Ind.
3/15/20 - Men's Lacrosse at Ohio State Columbus, Ohio
3/21/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Towson Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
3/28/20 - Men's Lacrosse at Georgetown Washington D.C.
4/4/20 - Men's Lacrosse at Villanova Villanova, Pa.
4/11/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs St. John's Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
4/18/20 - Men's Lacrosse at Providence Providence, R.I.
4/24/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Marquette Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
4/30/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Semifinal Providence, R.I.
5/2/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Final Providence, R.I.
5/3/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs NCAA Selection Show Indianapolis, Ind.
5/9/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs First Round Campus Sites
5/16/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Quarterfinal Hempstead, N.Y./Providence, R.I.
5/23/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Semifinal Philadelphia, Pa.
5/25/20 - Men's Lacrosse vs Final Philadelphia, Pa.

[HopFan16]

Great schedule—that month of March is as tough as anyone's in the country. Kind of weird they're not playing Utah though, no? You'd hope to see that game on the schedule soon.

[Dunker]

DU played Utes last season and will probably have them back on schedule soon. This likely last time we play Cleveland State who we played because Tierney's son in law was their HC. He left in off-season but we probably owed them 1 more game.

[DU-fan]

Good article on the schedule: https://letsgodu.com/2019/09/13/du-mens ... to-denver/

MEN'S LACROSSE, MEN'S SPORTS
DU MEN’S LACROSSE SCHEDULE: DUKE & NORTH CAROLINA TO MAKE TREK TO DENVER
SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 NICK TREMAROLI

On Thursday, the University of Denver Men’s Lacrosse program was the first Division I lacrosse program to release its 2020 schedule. Just a few months removed from missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Bill Tierney took over the program in 2009, the Pioneers revealed another tough, exciting schedule, especially at home. The Pios’ 2020 schedule features two perennial powers – Duke & North Carolina – returning to Denver for the first time since 2017.

Lax Sports Network
@LaxSportsNet
"It's almost like we're renewing all the goals that we set back 10 years ago" @DUCoachTierney talks with LSN about missing the @NCAALAX tournament last season & the 2020 @DU_MLAX schedule as the Pioneers become first DI team to announce its slate. More: http://bit.ly/2lLgroC

Feb. 1: vs. Delaware (Exh.)
Feb. 8: at Air Force
Feb. 15: vs. Duke
Feb. 22: vs. St. Bonaventure (Face-Off Classic)
Feb. 23: vs. Cleveland St. (Face-Off Classic)
Mar. 1: vs. North Carolina
Mar. 7: at Notre Dame
Mar. 15: at Ohio State
Mar. 21: vs. Towson
Mar. 28: at Georgetown
Apr. 4: at Villanova
Apr. 11: vs. St. John’s
Apr. 18: at Providence
Apr. 24: vs. Marquette

The last time Duke and North Carolina came to Denver, in 2017, the Pioneers beat the Blue Devils but lost to UNC. But in 2018 and 2019 when the Pios traveled east for these matchups, the results flipped with Denver topping the Tar Heels but falling to Duke, including an instant classic, last-second loss in Durham last year. These matchups always seem to bring out the best lacrosse these programs have to offer and this year certainly will be no different. All three teams are expected to be among the best teams in the country and you should not plan to miss them.

Beyond the marquee matchups against Duke and UNC at Peter Barton, the other two matchups that stand out – moreso than even the rivalry trip to South Bend – are the bouts at Ohio State and at Georgetown. Last year’s game between the Pioneers and the Buckeyes was canceled as a result of the now-infamous Bomb Cyclone that prevented DU from leaving Colorado. The loss of that matchup severely hurt the Pioneers’ chances of making the NCAA Tournament (though they certainly did themselves no favors in the games they did play) and it also likely hurt OSU’s NCAA bid chances. Next to DU’s rivalry with Notre Dame, the matchups with the Buckeyes have been among the better western games the sport has seen in the last five years. The all-time series between the two programs is tied at 12 but OSU has won six of the nine matchups in Columbus.

Denver will open BIG EAST play in 2020 on the road, looking to exact revenge on the Hoyas just a year after the Georgetown ended the Pioneers’ season in the BIG EAST Championship Game in Denver. The 12-9 championship loss was an appropriate end to a disappointing season for the Pioneers. They looked tired, hapless at times, and otherwise surprisingly overmatched against the Hoyas. Although the Pioneers will be more than halfway through the season and have a pretty good idea of where the year is headed, Denver will open conference play with a chance to make an important statement and get revenge on the road.

We’re still a bit less than five months away from the season but with the release of the schedule, the Pioneers have turned the page and hope springs eternal after a rough 2019 season. DU has their work cut out for them to prevent a second straight season without an NCAA Tournament appearance. But Denver should be able to achieve that if they can win their key nonconference matchups and perform well (translation: go undefeated) in BIG EAST play.

What are the matchups you’re looking most forward to? After a less-than-stellar home schedule last year, are you planning to attend more games this season?

[a fan]

That's a great schedule. Should be a fun year.

[10stone5]

Denver has been recruiting heavily out west of course.
Might interest DU fans to know that next year, there will be a western tournament of the top western prep/high schools, from all the top western lacrosse states.

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... hips/55296

[Puck Swami]

As I wrote in the comments of LetsGODU, I think it bears repeating here:

This is an excellent schedule and the best one in a while - light years ahead of last year's disastrous schedule.

It looks as though DU should have the offensive horses to score with anyone, and the face-off position looks nearly 'Baptistean' between the second year experience of Brett Boos and the promise of highly recruited face-off man Alex Stathakis. DU should have the ball enough of the time to win games, and I hope Matt Brown concentrates on team shooting accuracy this season. When DU won the NC back in 2015, they shot 64% on goal and buried 32% of the shots for goals. Last year, DI shot only 57% on goal, and buried 28% of those shots. That difference is a big reason why DU went 10-5 last season and did not make it to the dance.

The biggest challenge will be a reconstructed close defense with only 1 very experienced returnee in Colin Squires and so many other minutes up for grabs from new faces. Tierney and Gallant also need to not only replace bodies but teach systems, as defensive assistant John Orsen has left DU for Navy.

DU also needs to be better in goal, now that Alex Ready has graduated. Ready saved 47% of his shots last year, which is below the 50% level that DU asks of its goalies. Whomever replaces Ready needs to be a 50% netminder.

[10stone5]

34 freshmen and sophomores, including redshirts.
Obviously Tierney’s plan this year was/is to go young.

2020 roster.

https://denverpioneers.com/roster.aspx? ... sort=class

[DU-fan]

Denver press on the Top 100 Inside Lacrosse list last week:
https://denverpioneers.com/news/2019/9/ ... ?path=mlax

Men's Lacrosse 9/17/2019 12:42:00 PM Niko Blankenship

Denver Places Four Freshmen on Inside Lacrosse 2019 Power 100

Freshman faceoff specialist Alec Stathakis ranked fourth overall (No. 1 faceoff specialist) in the 2020 freshman class

INSIDE LACROSSE POWER 100 - https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... ings/55325

DENVER – The University of Denver men's lacrosse program, Presented by Your Hometown Toyota Stores, has four incoming freshmen in the Inside Lacrosse 2019 Power 100, the publication announced on Monday.

Faceoff specialist Alec Stathakis (Culver – Ind.) was picked fourth in the rankings (No. 1 overall faceoff specialist), attackman JJ Sillstrop (La Costa Canyon – Calif.) was 19th (No. 5 overall attackman), attackman Reed Babcock (Regis Jesuit – Colo.) was 90th and goalie Jack Thompson was 92nd (Rock Canyon – Colo.).

Last week, Denver became the first Division I program to announce its 2020 schedule, a slate that features home games against Duke, North Carolina, Towson and a Friday Night Lights clash with Marquette.

FALL SCHEDULE:
Denver also announced its fall exhibition schedule last Thursday. The Pioneers will head to Cortland State on October 5 to play Syracuse (5 p.m. MT) before returning home to face Michigan on October 13 (11 a.m. MT). The Pioneers will host their annual Alumni Weekend on October 19, including the Alumni Game at 12 p.m. MT.

[Dunker]

I disagree with Puck on a few of his offensive takes.
1. Last year, we were miserable against zone defenses. Fixable, and Brown needs to fix it.
2. We probably have enough scorers, but who are they besides Ethan Walker? I felt last season we lacked confidence in our own shooting talents. Kids were shooting and hoping. In prior years we had a handful of players who were household names we could rely on. Hanna came on last year. Others will, but not sure who. Certainly some of the Canadians have to produce like they've been here before and make an impact.
Outstanding FOGO play will keep us dangerous. A healthy Ellis Geis is someone we can rely on to score. Danny Logan does it all and will be our most valuable player.

[Puck Swami]

Walker, Geis and Hannah are already proven scorers at this level. Then you have guys who might be bigger scorers with more opportunity for playing time- Sullivan, Simmons, Curtis, Blair, Marrocco, Erickson, Smith, and Dwinnel come to mind. Then you have guys who haven't yet played at this level who might breakthrough for impact - Two Canadian redshirts Dawick and Brand, plus maybe some freshmen who might be really promising such as Sillstrop and Hammond, etc. Of course, there may be other roster guys who make an impact, but my guess is that 8-10 of these 15 guys I mentioned here are going to get double digits in points, and 6-7 of those 8-10 guys are going to be 25+ point guys, and hopefully 4 of those 6-7 will be more than 30+ point guys. There will always be busts of course, but you also hope that guys you don't expect to be impact guys right away will be just that. Geis and Hannah was surprises to me last year. I agree with you about the Canadians beyond Walker- I want to see more from Simmons, Curtis, Dawick and Brand. These guys need to part of an improved shooting Pioneer squad.

[DU-fan]

You both make good points.

On offense we have a lot of weapons and talent. Leadership and scoring under pressure will need to improve. Shooting accuracy was an issue last year that improved over time. We need more go to guys that can score when we absolutely need a goal. We technically only lost two impact offensive players with Austin French (17G's, 14A's, 31 Pts) and Colton Jackson (19G's, 7A, 26 Pts). We have the talent to upgrade the offense this year. Last year, I kept hearing the message, "keep shooting and the goals will come". The offense will need to play with more poise and finish with accuracy. Last year, we seemed to rush shots. Perhaps this was a result of the shot clock and the offensive system will need to adapt and evolve more. But, a 80/60 shot clock is a lot of time to move the ball and set up a great shot. But, when you hear "heavy" from the side lines when the clock is winding down, it changes the shooting urgency and the Brownie offense of the past will need to evolve more post shot clock.

Defense will be the most interesting part to see who steps up. Colin Squires and Danny Logan are the foundation that you build around. I expect Charlie DeMuth coming from Dickinson to help on face offs and as an LSM. We will need to have Chris Sullivan, Nate Williams, Charlie Winsor, Mac Tezak, Dante Bravo, Colby Moore and Oliver Dina step up. We will also see playing time from a strong defensive freshman class with Malik Sparrow, AJ Mercurio, Anders Croone, Jack DiBenedetto, and Aidan Abram.

Scrimmages start in two weeks so we will get some insights.

[cherrylax]

A lot of people who coach and play lacrosse say you can foresee the success of a team by looking at how they are in the middle of the field. That means goalie, face off, and x attackmen. Looking at DU this year I don't want to jinx it but it appears we are pretty solid at the Face off X, with the only question being who replaces the production of Neufeldt. The other two spots are really any body's best guess.

I would venture to guess that the staff will give Cole French the first team reps to start the season, but this may also be an open competition from the get go. French has shown glimpses of being the guy, as has the forgotten but not gone Josh Matte. Does Gallant role with his highly touted incoming Freshman goalie? I'd be interested to see what the rest of pio land thinks.

In terms of an X attackmen I think you can make the argument for a couple of guys. In terms of proven guys Schyler Blaire seems to be the incumbent starter, but not sure he if he is dynamic enough to take over that spot. Johnny Marrocco looked great at times last year as did Erickson. Also look out for incoming freshman J.J. Sillstrop to see some time this year. If I had to bet the starters would be Walker on the left wing, Sillstrop at X, and Geis on the right (assuming he's healthy).

I feel like a relatively under the radar freshman puts up some points every year, and my pick this year is Reed Babcock. Listed as an attackmen, but played a lot of midfield in high school. Kid has been coached by Matt Brown since he was 10 and seems to have the size to play midfield and attack. Plus I like pulling for local kids.

[gunnerz]

Get ready!

1. Alec Stathakis | Culver Academy (Ind.) | Denver
Alec Stathakis is the latest in a trend surrounding face-off athletes who tend to dominate.
The 5-foot-11, 225-pound specialist from Northville, Mich., highly resembles former Towson All-American Alex Woodall when you see him on the field. Though, when he finally dons his Denver uniform next spring, he’ll immediately draw comparisons to Trevor Baptiste.
In short, Stathakis is big. And strong.
With a multi-sport background as a running back and linebacker in football, Stathakis is one of the most prolific face-off specialists the Midwest has ever produced. Playing a nationally competitive schedule for Culver Academy (Ind.), Stathakis finished his senior season winning 85 percent of his draws while collecting 206 groundballs. In July, he was one of three face-off specialists selected for the U.S. Men’s U19 Training Team in anticipation of the 2020 U-19 World Championship.
“This wasn’t a kid that [Culver coach] Jon Posner was talking about much coming out of his 10th grade year.” said Denver coach Bill Tierney. “There was this little event in Grand Rapids, Mich. in the freezing cold where I watched Alec a few falls ago just totally dominate face-offs during his football season. I texted Alex Simmons who was there when I was in my car to get Alec’s number for me, but Jon didn’t put this kid out there a ton. But it was clear he had developed a great deal. I told Trevor ‘this guy’s gonna make people forget you!’ and he smiled and just moved on. I don’t think Alec lost a face-off that entire day.”
Stathakis further announced his presence at the Under Armour All-America game, in which he went 25-for-41 at the X and scored a goal. He’ll be expected to take on a similar workload to Baptiste when he gets on campus.
“What really thrills me is — and forget his size and style — that, just like Trevor, for him it’s an expectation that he’s ready to go and take 30 face-offs in a game,” said Tierney. “Or 10 in a game, or go against two poles. In the U19 tryouts, there were two in a row where he lost and then bang, bang, bang — he wins three in a row. I talked to him after and he wasn’t phased. He has a maturity that is beyond his years.”
With Stathakis tag teaming with Brett Boos, who impressed in his freshman season with a 59.3 win percentage, there’s the prospect that the Pioneers could again dominate at the face-off X for a long cycle.
“Brett grew up right under our nose as a Denver Elite kid, but for me, my hope is that Alec will be like Trevor Baptiste,” said Tierney. “Same uniform, same position, same build. Brett can keep him healthy and sharpen him in practice. It’s amazing to have multiple guys.
I know Alec’s smart enough to be his own man, he’s not trying to be Trevor Baptiste because he has his own style. At the U-19s, I was almost like a dad watching him there and hoping he’d do well.”

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... ists/55368