Denver 2021

[DU-fan]

Excited for the 2021 season.

All the freshman starters are now Sophomores. Add in Josh Morrill, Jack Hannah, Alex Simmons, Teddy Sullivan, Ethan Walker, Danny Logan, Colin Squires, and we look very strong with lots of experience and leadership.

Potential 2021 Starters. I'm assuming the Seniors comeback for one more year.

Attack
======
Jackson Morrill - 5th Year Sr
Ethan Walker - 5th Year Sr
JJ Sillstrop - So (freshman starter)

Midi
======
Jack Hannah - Sr
Alex Simmons - Jr
Teddy Sullivan - Sr

Alec Stathakis - FO - So (freshman starter)

Danny Logan- DM - 5th Year Sr
Kyle Smith - DM- 5th Year Sr

Drew Erickson- A/M- Jr
Mercurio, AJ - LSM - So (freshman starter)
Sparrow, Malik - LSM - So (freshman starter)

Defense
=======
Colin Squires - 5th Year Sr
Adam Hangland - So (freshman starter)
Jack DiBenedetto - So (freshman starter)

Goalie
======
Jack Thompson - So (freshman starter)

[gymman1031]

I think the Big East is going to be very competitive and exciting next year!

[10stone5]

Personal: Robert Jackson Morrill is the son of Mary Page Michel and Mike Morrill.
Older brother, Zeke, plays lacrosse at Georgetown in the class of 2018.
Father won two national lacrosse championships at Johns Hopkins and was a 2016 inductee to the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Great grandfather, Kelso Morrill, and grandfather, Bill Morrill, are also in the hall of fame.
Only family with three generations in US Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Kelso Morrill,
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kelso_Morrill

[Matnum PI]

Attack
======
Josh Morrill - 5th Year Sr

Jackson, no?

[Pio9]

Nice pick up, adds some much needed scoring depth.

[stupefied]

Excited for the 2021 season.

All the freshman starters are now Sophomores. Add in Josh Morrill, Jack Hannah, Alex Simmons, Teddy Sullivan, Ethan Walker, Danny Logan, Colin Squires, and we look very strong with lots of experience and leadership.

Potential 2021 Starters. I'm assuming the Seniors comeback for one more year.

Attack
======
Josh Morrill - 5th Year Sr
Ethan Walker - 5th Year Sr
JJ Sillstrop - So (freshman starter)

Midi
======
Jack Hannah - Sr
Alex Simmons - Jr
Teddy Sullivan - Sr

Alec Stathakis - FO - So (freshman starter)

Danny Logan- DM - 5th Year Sr
Kyle Smith - DM- 5th Year Sr

Drew Erickson- A/M- Jr
Mercurio, AJ - LSM - So (freshman starter)
Sparrow, Malik - LSM - So (freshman starter)

Defense
=======
Colin Squires - 5th Year Sr
Adam Hangland - So (freshman starter)
Jack DiBenedetto - So (freshman starter)

Goalie
======
Jack Thompson - So (freshman starter)

Be a strong team . Nice talent mix of experience and youth . Also have a second strong fogo in Boos

[Matnum PI]

Didn't realize that Denver had so many freshmen starters this season.

[DU-fan]

Attack
======
Josh Morrill - 5th Year Sr

Jackson, no?

Duh!! I fixed it at the top.

[DU-fan]

Excited for the 2021 season.

All the freshman starters are now Sophomores. Add in Josh Morrill, Jack Hannah, Alex Simmons, Teddy Sullivan, Ethan Walker, Danny Logan, Colin Squires, and we look very strong with lots of experience and leadership.

Potential 2021 Starters. I'm assuming the Seniors comeback for one more year.

Attack
======
Jackson Morrill - 5th Year Sr
Ethan Walker - 5th Year Sr
JJ Sillstrop - So (freshman starter)

Midi
======
Jack Hannah - Sr
Alex Simmons - Jr
Teddy Sullivan - Sr

Alec Stathakis - FO - So (freshman starter)

Danny Logan- DM - 5th Year Sr
Kyle Smith - DM- 5th Year Sr

Drew Erickson- A/M- Jr
Mercurio, AJ - LSM - So (freshman starter)
Sparrow, Malik - LSM - So (freshman starter)

Defense
=======
Colin Squires - 5th Year Sr
Adam Hangland - So (freshman starter)
Jack DiBenedetto - So (freshman starter)

Goalie
======
Jack Thompson - So (freshman starter)

Be a strong team . Nice talent mix of experience and youth . Also have a second strong fogo in Boos

Agreed. And an excellent second offensive Midi line.

[DU-fan]

More background on Jackson:

HEIGHT 6-1
WEIGHT 190
HOMETOWN Baltimore, Md.
HIGHSCHOOL McDonogh

Notes: Ranks second at Yale in career points with 220 and is fifth in goals with 113.

2020: IL Pre-Season All-America Third Team... USILA Warrior & NB Pre-Season All-America Second Team... Tewaaraton Award Watch List... NEILA Pre-Season All-New England First Team... Started all four games and had 15 points... Second longest active points streak in Division one with 55 games... Three goals in a win at Villanova (2/15)... Season-high six points on two goals and four assists against Michigan (3/7)... Scooped a career-high seven ground balls in a win at Penn State (2/22).

2019: IL Media All-America; USILA Warrior & New Balance All-America 3rd tm; Walter T. Collins Award for team’s best offensive player… Named to Tewaaraton Award Watch List… First-team All-Ivy… Ivy All-Tourney… All-New England… 7th in nation in points per game, 10th in assists… Established goal and assist records for Yale juniors.

2018: Second-Team All-Ivy League… Ivy League All-Tournament team… Second Team NEILA All New England... NCAA Championship Weekend All-Tournament Team... Scored 7 goals in 15-13 NCAA first-round win over UMass, the most goals scored by a Bulldog in the national tournament... It was the 3rd best total for a player in any first-round game ever... The 7 goals vs. UMass tied single-game school record for a sophomore... Finished season with 6th highest scoring mark in single-season Yale history (72 points)... Finished season with 8th most assists (32) in school history for a single season... Had 10 goals and 19 points in NCAA Tournament.

2017: Career-high 5 goals and 6 points at Villanova... Career-high four assists vs. Brown... Finished season with 20 goals and 19 assists... Scooped up 37 ground balls... Had five multi-goal games... Had five multi-assist games.

Before Yale: 2016 Baltimore Sun Player of the Year… 2016 Under Armour All-American Game… First-Team All-Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA)… Played two years on nationally ranked soccer team as a midfielder… Cum Laude status.

Personal: Robert Jackson Morrill is the son of Mary Page Michel and Mike Morrill… Older brother, Zeke, plays lacrosse at Georgetown in the class of 2018… Father won two national lacrosse championships at Johns Hopkins and was a 2016 inductee to the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame… Great grandfather, Kelso Morrill, and grandfather, Bill Morrill, are also in the hall of fame… Only family with three generations in US Lacrosse Hall of Fame… Mom played lacrosse at Dartmouth.

[10stone5]

Personal: Robert Jackson Morrill is the son of Mary Page Michel and Mike Morrill.
Older brother, Zeke, plays lacrosse at Georgetown in the class of 2018.
Father won two national lacrosse championships at Johns Hopkins and was a 2016 inductee to the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Great grandfather, Kelso Morrill, and grandfather, Bill Morrill, are also in the hall of fame.
Only family with three generations in US Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Kelso Morrill,
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kelso_Morrill

Between them, the four generations of Morrill family have 7 lacrosse national titles, including Jackson’s latest with Yale,
Great write-up on Bill Morrill who was a tremendous player,
https://pages.jh.edu/~gazette/octdec96/ ... allof.html

[The Orfling]

More background on Jackson:

HEIGHT 6-1
WEIGHT 190
HOMETOWN Baltimore, Md.
HIGHSCHOOL McDonogh

Notes: Ranks second at Yale in career points with 220 and is fifth in goals with 113.

2020: IL Pre-Season All-America Third Team... USILA Warrior & NB Pre-Season All-America Second Team... Tewaaraton Award Watch List... NEILA Pre-Season All-New England First Team... Started all four games and had 15 points... Second longest active points streak in Division one with 55 games... Three goals in a win at Villanova (2/15)... Season-high six points on two goals and four assists against Michigan (3/7)... Scooped a career-high seven ground balls in a win at Penn State (2/22).

2019: IL Media All-America; USILA Warrior & New Balance All-America 3rd tm; Walter T. Collins Award for team’s best offensive player… Named to Tewaaraton Award Watch List… First-team All-Ivy… Ivy All-Tourney… All-New England… 7th in nation in points per game, 10th in assists… Established goal and assist records for Yale juniors.

2018: Second-Team All-Ivy League… Ivy League All-Tournament team… Second Team NEILA All New England... NCAA Championship Weekend All-Tournament Team... Scored 7 goals in 15-13 NCAA first-round win over UMass, the most goals scored by a Bulldog in the national tournament... It was the 3rd best total for a player in any first-round game ever... The 7 goals vs. UMass tied single-game school record for a sophomore... Finished season with 6th highest scoring mark in single-season Yale history (72 points)... Finished season with 8th most assists (32) in school history for a single season... Had 10 goals and 19 points in NCAA Tournament.

2017: Career-high 5 goals and 6 points at Villanova... Career-high four assists vs. Brown... Finished season with 20 goals and 19 assists... Scooped up 37 ground balls... Had five multi-goal games... Had five multi-assist games.

Before Yale: 2016 Baltimore Sun Player of the Year… 2016 Under Armour All-American Game… First-Team All-Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA)… Played two years on nationally ranked soccer team as a midfielder… Cum Laude status.

Personal: Robert Jackson Morrill is the son of Mary Page Michel and Mike Morrill… Older brother, Zeke, plays lacrosse at Georgetown in the class of 2018… Father won two national lacrosse championships at Johns Hopkins and was a 2016 inductee to the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame… Great grandfather, Kelso Morrill, and grandfather, Bill Morrill, are also in the hall of fame… Only family with three generations in US Lacrosse Hall of Fame… Mom played lacrosse at Dartmouth.

By tradition, Yale teams in all sports have only one captain -- it's always done by election of the team, and it's a major indicator of who is respected by his or her peers (not just for talent, but for all the intangibles). Jackson Morrill was this season's captain. Great work ethic and leadership traits. You are getting a good one! Will have to spend some energy rooting for the Pios and Jackson when not cheering on Yale.

[AreaLax]

So you got another Yale guy. TX twitter

@YaleLacrosse senior Lucas Cotler has confirmed that he's set on @DU_MLAX for his 5th year in '21, joining teammate Jackson Morrill. Racking up 79 career points as a mainstay on the Bulldogs' offense, he checked in at No. 8 in IL's Grad Transfer Rankings:

[Laxxal22]

DU gets Cotler too. https://twitter.com/tyxanders/status/12 ... 4416699392

[jrn19]

DU gets Cotler too. https://twitter.com/tyxanders/status/12 ... 4416699392

That's a big overhaul for the offense that really changes my outlook of DU for 2021. Goalie play still a question, but otherwise hard not to see them as a Top 10 team to start next year, which I would not have said at all prior to pulling in Morrill and Cotler

[Comeonman]

Agreed. Subpar job from staff in recruiting sustainable keepers the last 5 years or so. If they can reel in Adler or Kirson (whichever doesn’t go to Duke), they may be able to contend. Defense still young though.

[Puck Swami]

Well, I guess we'll have open a Mory's, a Louis' Lunch and a Sally's Appiza in Denver so Morrill and Cotler can feel at home.

Failing that, at least the Yale Whiffenpoofs perform at DU each year to a sold out crowd, so there's that...

Welcome to Denver, boys. Please provide offense and have a great year in Denver.

[DU-fan]

Lucas has played both Attack and Midi. All 2020 games he played Midi. He is another great addition to Denver. Will be interesting to see what position he plays next week. Denver has a number of great players that shift between Midi and Attack (Curtis, Geis, Erickson, Babcock, etc.). I suspect he will play Midi.

Curious if Denver is also talking to Matt Ward...

Lucas' bio from the Yale website:

LUCAS COTLER
HEIGHT 6-0
WEIGHT 205
CLASS Senior
HOMETOWN Syosset, N.Y.
HIGHSCHOOL Syosset

Biography
2020: NEILA Pre-Season All-New England First Team... Started all four games... Recorded eight points on the season... Tied his career-high with four goals and five points at Villanova (2/15)... Added two assists against Michigan (3/7).

2019: Regular on attack… Scored 4 goals vs. Penn in national quarterfinal game… Career high in season points.

2018: Regular on attack… Had 2 goals and 4 points at Brown... Season-high 3 goals in win over Albany in April at New Haven... Notched 3 points in NCAA Championship Game win over Duke... Netted 3 goals with 6 points in NCAA Tournament.

2017: Played in 16 games and started one... Scored 19 goals and had 4 assists... Had 8 multi-goal games... Scooped up 6 ground balls and caused 1 turnover... Had 6 multi-goal games in a row.

Before Yale: Played all four years in lacrosse at midfield at Syosset High School… US Lacrosse All-American… Under Armour All-American… Twice named captain of varsity lacrosse… Earned four letters in lacrosse… First Team All-Long Island… Second Team All-Metro… All-Conference 2014, All-County 2015-2016… Played in the Under Armour Underclass Tournament… Four-time scholar athlete… Two-time county champions… 2016 Long Island Champions.

Personal: Lucas Cotler is the son of Richard and Robyn Cotler... He is also the brother of Benny and Ethan Cotler.

[DU-fan]

Posting a good article by LetsGoDU.

https://letsgodu.com/2020/05/06/denver- ... from-yale/

DENVER LANDS JACKSON MORRILL, COVETED GRADUATE TRANSFER FROM YALE
MAY 6, 2020 NICK TREMAROLI 3 COMMENTS

After much of the country had called it a night yesterday, Ty Xanders of Inside Lacrosse reported that one of the most coveted graduate transfers in the portal – All-American Yale attackman Jackson Morrill – had made his decision on where to play for his final year of eligibility. Xanders reported that Morrill had defied the predictions and decided to come west to play at Denver. In Morrill, the Pioneers add not only the 2nd-best transfer in the portal – 2020 Tewaaraton frontrunner Michael Sowers was #1 and he chose Duke – but they gain the 2nd-ranked scorer in Yale history (220 points on 113 goals).

Morrill’s transfer was made possible in part by the NCAA and its decision to grant an extra year of eligibility to every spring sport student-athlete whose season ended prematurely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it was the Ivy League’s controversial decision to not waive its rule that graduate students are not allowed to compete in athletics that essentially forced Morrill, Sowers, and other Ivy seniors to look elsewhere for their fifth year of eligibility.

Until Xanders’ report, the consensus was that Johns Hopkins was the frontrunner to land Morrill’s services. He’s from the Baltimore area and his dad, grandfather, and great-grandfather had tremendous success as players and a coach there, combining for six national titles between the three of them.

Paul Carcaterra
@paulcarcaterra
Watch @DU_MLAX lefty Ethan Walker score 60 goals next year. He hasn’t had a righty at X like this since his freshman year. https://twitter.com/inside_lacrosse/sta ... 2925218816 …

Inside Lacrosse
@Inside_Lacrosse
.@YaleLacrosse's Jackson Morrill, who finished second in program history with 220 points, confirms to @tyxanders that he's headed to @DU_MLAX for his 5th year of eligibility. Morrill is ranked No. 2 in IL's Top 40 Grad Transfer Rankings: https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... nver/56380 …

7:57 PM - May 5, 2020 Update
The good news for DU didn’t stop there, though, as it was also reported by Xanders that star attackman Ethan Walker is expected to return to Denver for his own fifth year of eligibility which should help to make Morrill’s transition to the Mile High City at least a little bit easier. Between Morrill and Walker, Matt Brown, DU’s offensive coordinator, offensive mastermind, and Bill Tierney heir-apparent, now has as potent an attack at his disposal as he’s had in recent memory. While DU has not officially confirmed either decision, 2021 is already shaping up to be one of the best years since the program’s run to the 2015 national title.

LetsGoDU
@LetsGoDU
· May 6, 2020
It sounds like Ethan Walker is going to come back next year per @tyxanders which means @DU_MLAX's 2021 offense will feature FOGO Alec Stathakis, M Jack Hannah, A Jackson Morrill, and A Ethan Walker.

Not to get your hopes up or anything but, uh, this is reminding me a lot of 2015

LetsGoDU
@LetsGoDU
To kind of bring that comparison to life for you:

Alec Stathakis - Trevor Baptiste
Jack Hannah - Tyler Pace
Jackson Morrill - Connor Cannizzaro
Ethan Walker - Wes Berg

10:21 AM - May 6, 2020
See LetsGoDU's other Tweets
While it’s not advisable to assume that because the 2021 squad is being built the same way the 2015 one was, DU is going to win its second national championship next year, it is very advisable to get excited about next season. There are still more questions than answers on defense for the 2021 Pioneers but by the time the season was canceled, DU’s defense had started to find its stride and Jack Thompson emerged as the leading candidate for starting goalie stringing together a few strong games at the end. With another year under their belt, Bill Tierney’s young defensive core should provide a solid foundation at the back for what will be one of the country’s best attacks.

You may be asking yourself why 2015 is such an apt comparison. That team was loaded with talent from goalie to midfield to attack. That team was so perfectly balanced and constructed for success in that lacrosse landscape. In 2015, Denver had FOGO Trevor Baptiste, M Tyler Pace, A Zach Miller, A Connor Cannizzaro, and, of course, A Wes Berg. In 2021, though, Denver will feature FOGO Alec Stathakis, M Jack Hannah, A Jackson Morrill, and A Ethan Walker. With the glaring exception of Miller – there is some potential there in JJ Sillstrop who had 10 goals in six games as a freshman – the 2021 team has a direct comparison to 2015’s vaunted offensive attack that led DU to its first national title.

Before adding Morrill, it wasn’t like Denver was going to be struggling to find success in 2021. The Pios were going to be a solid team, especially if Walker was going to return. What the addition of Morrill does is put the Pioneers over the top. The Pioneers desperately needed a yin to Walker’s yang and that’s exactly what they got in Morrill. Remember the absolute joy you experienced watching Cannizzaro and Berg slice and dice defenses five years ago? Now, replace Cannizzaro with Morrill and Berg with Walker. Yeah, 2021 is still a year off but that image and the hope that it inspires should be enough to get you through the coming long, arduous months.

May 7, 8:30 AM Update:

Xanders broke another piece of great news last night as he reported that Midfielder Lucas Cotler, Morrill’s teammate at Yale and the #8 graduate transfer according to Inside Lacrosse, will transfer to Denver as well. In his four years at Yale, Cotler tallied 79 points on 55 goals. Cotler figures to add more firepower and offensive punch to an already dangerous attack. With Hannah and now Cotler anchoring the midfield for Bill Tierney, 2021’s ceiling just keeps getting pushed higher and higher.

Ty Xanders
@tyxanders
.@YaleLacrosse senior Lucas Cotler has confirmed that he's set on @DU_MLAX for his 5th year in '21, joining teammate Jackson Morrill. Racking up 79 career points as a mainstay on the Bulldogs' offense, he checked in at No. 8 in IL's Grad Transfer Rankings: https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... fers/56355 …

REPLIES:

Puck Swami MAY 6, 2020 AT 12:58 PM
Can’t overstate the importance of signing Morrill.

ESPN’s Paul Carcaterra said on twitter yesterday that lefty Ethan Walker would “score 60 goals next year. He hasn’t had a righty at X [meaning serving passes to attackers behind the net] like this since his freshman year.”

Getting a high-impact Yalie to come to DU is also great to open the gates for future Ivy league (and other eastern elite eastern school players) to come west to the University of Denver.

Anonymous MAY 6, 2020 AT 2:37 PM
Massive addition! Finally some much needed scoring depth.

Anonymous MAY 6, 2020 AT 8:41 PM
Great news! I think this program needed a boost. This transfer, plus the possibility of Ethan Walker returning, would provide it. Hopefully there is another source re: Walkers potential return, because the linked article hardly makes it sound like it’s a sure thing

[10stone5]

The above analysis could be spot on, or it could be the exuberance of the moment, the transfers, Walker returning.

Two big differences.
That 2015 team went to 3 straight final fours and four straight quarterfinals.
And, the Big East has more challengers, Georgetown, Providence even, Villanova.