Denver 2022

D1 Mens Lacrosse
cherrylax
Posts: 102
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 11:39 am

Re: Denver 2022

Post by cherrylax »

Obviously a strange year for it, but any updates on guys playing up North? It seems that incoming freshman Noah Manning is playing for Victoria this summer and putting up some good numbers. Not as many junior A players on the roster this year but would be interesting to get a summer update.
cherrylax
Posts: 102
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 11:39 am

Re: Denver 2022

Post by cherrylax »

Alright Summer season is going a little bit more so lets start it off with our current players

Alex Simmons
Team: St. Catherines
Currently second in points in the league with 34.

Josh Dawick
Team: Whitby
Currently has 16 points through 7 games played

Riley Curtis
Team: CCBL
leading the league in points with 54

T.K. Hammond
Team: CCBL
Third in the league in points with 34

Carter Brand
Team: CCBL
averaging almost four points a game in games played

There are too many current players in the league to talk about all of them, but it is encouraging to see so many guys getting out and playing. Will be great to see them stack up against the rest of the country in the next couple days. The national championships start tomorrow and runs to Saturday.

Now for our future Pio's

Noah Manning
Team: Victoria Shamrocks
Ended the regular season 4th in points with 32. Three guys above him are all either NLL players or prospects. Hoping his game transitions well to the field, and if it does we could have a real good player on our hands.

Colm Barnett (22')
Team: Orangeville Northman
Currently playing defense for the Northman registering 4 points in six games played. Another very young talented player who could be a do it all guy for the Pio's.

Couldn't find anything on Tye Scott who usually plays with Burlington. If anyone else has anything would love to hear it.
Antonio114
Posts: 170
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2018 1:27 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by Antonio114 »

cherrylax wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 10:34 am Alright Summer season is going a little bit more so lets start it off with our current players

Alex Simmons
Team: St. Catherines
Currently second in points in the league with 34.

Josh Dawick
Team: Whitby
Currently has 16 points through 7 games played

Riley Curtis
Team: CCBL
leading the league in points with 54

T.K. Hammond
Team: CCBL
Third in the league in points with 34


Carter Brand
Team: CCBL
averaging almost four points a game in games played

There are too many current players in the league to talk about all of them, but it is encouraging to see so many guys getting out and playing. Will be great to see them stack up against the rest of the country in the next couple days. The national championships start tomorrow and runs to Saturday.

Now for our future Pio's

Noah Manning
Team: Victoria Shamrocks
Ended the regular season 4th in points with 32. Three guys above him are all either NLL players or prospects. Hoping his game transitions well to the field, and if it does we could have a real good player on our hands.

Colm Barnett (22')
Team: Orangeville Northman
Currently playing defense for the Northman registering 4 points in six games played. Another very young talented player who could be a do it all guy for the Pio's.

Couldn't find anything on Tye Scott who usually plays with Burlington. If anyone else has anything would love to hear it.
Still very surprised that Riley Curtis has not produced more for Denver the last couple years. He looked like a monster at Hill Academy and clearly has massive skills if he can get points like that in the indoor game.
DU-fan
Posts: 1309
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:04 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by DU-fan »

Looking forward to the 2022 season.

The first game confirmed from the Towson schedule is 3/26 Sat Towson in Denver. https://towsontigers.com/sports/mens-lacrosse/schedule

I assume the 2019 schedule will help guide the schedule for 2022. No more double conference games.

My guess of the schedule is below. I am not sure who Denver would play in their St. Bonaventure / Cleveland St spot. This is largely just speculation based on the 2019 schedule.

2022 Schedule Guess
Date At Opponent Location Tournament
2/12/22 Home Air Force Denver, Colo. Guess
2/19/22 Away Duke Durham, N.C. Guess
2/26/22 Home Utah Denver, Colo. Guess
3/5/22 Away North Carolina Chapel Hill, N.C. Guess
3/12/22 Home Notre Dame Denver, Colo. Guess
3/19/22 Away Ohio State Columbus, Ohio Guess
3/26/22 Home Towson Denver, Colo. Confirmed
4/2/22 Away Georgetown Guess
4/9/22 Away Villanova Guess
4/16/22 Home St. John's Guess
4/23/22 Away Providence Guess
4/30/22 Home Marquette Guess
5/5/22 Big East Quarterfinals Guess
5/7/22 Big East Finals Guess
Last edited by DU-fan on Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
gunnerz
Posts: 56
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2018 3:44 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by gunnerz »

My guess is DU will play Duke and UNC over the same period, like Friday-Sunday or Thursday Saturday/Sunday. Why make two trips to North Carolina?
Farfromgeneva
Posts: 22321
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:53 am

Re: Denver 2022

Post by Farfromgeneva »

Nice schedule.
Same sword they knight you they gon' good night you with
Thats' only half if they like you
That ain't even the half what they might do
Don't believe me, ask Michael
See Martin, Malcolm
See Jesus, Judas; Caesar, Brutus
See success is like suicide
DU-fan
Posts: 1309
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:04 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by DU-fan »

gunnerz wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 1:05 pm My guess is DU will play Duke and UNC over the same period, like Friday-Sunday or Thursday Saturday/Sunday. Why make two trips to North Carolina?
Maybe. I hope not. It did not work for them last year. It will come down to budget and UNC / Duke availability.
DU-fan
Posts: 1309
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:04 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by DU-fan »

Good write up and analysis by Tanner Demling. Georgetown looks to be the Big East favorite in my opinion.

https://lacrossebucket.com/2021/08/25/i ... -big-east/

Is 2022 The Year Denver Takes Back The Big East?
PUBLISHED ON 25 Aug 2021 by Tanner Demling

The Denver Pioneers joined the Big East ahead of the 2014 season and immediately dominated. Through their first three seasons in the conference, the only loss Bill Tierney’s squad suffered against a conference foe came at the hands of Marquette in the 2016 Big East championship game. It would be the first instance of what has turned into somewhat of a trend of Denver falling in the Big East title game. The Pioneers fell to Marquette again in the 2017 conference semifinals before becoming victims of the Georgetown dynasty, losing to the Hoyas in the past three Big East championship games (2018, 2019, 2021).

Led by a legend in Bill Tierney and being the only Big East program to have won a national title (2015), the Pioneers are still a perennial top-15 program. However, the “glory years” of Pioneer lacrosse get further away with every passing season.

A fourth Denver-Georgetown Big East championship game meeting is almost a given in 2022. With the Hoyas continuing to build on their successes and Bill Tierney having three years left on what is expected to be the legendary coach’s final contract extension one has to ask: if Denver can’t take back the Big East in 2022 will we ever see them do so again under Tierney?

During the 2021 season, Denver relied heavily on the transfer portal, grabbing a trio of Yale grad transfers in Jackson Morrill, Lucas Cotler, and TD Ierlan to further bolster their roster. Morrill led the Pioneers’ offense with 70 points off 37 goals and 33 assists while Cotler had 19 goals and nine assists for 28 points as the team’s fifth-leading scorer. Ierlan, who came in for the final nine games of the season, went 86-for-118 (72%) at the dot, which included a pair of perfect games against Providence and St. John’s.

In addition to the loss of the aforementioned trio of transfers, Denver also loses attackman Ethan Walker (39G/21A), who was a starter all five seasons of his career, as well as their top close defenseman in Colin Squires (34GB/10CT), and SSDMs Danny Logan (45GB/16CT) and Kyle Smith (25GB/18CT).

Losing six key players is never easy, and while directly replacing any of the aforementioned six is practically impossible, the Pioneers do return enough talent and experience to suggest that they won’t be able to just survive the blows that come with losing the talent that they do, but they’ll be able to continue to thrive.

Flipping the script from 2021, Denver’s offense will likely be more midfield-heavy, from a production standpoint, this coming spring. With the loss of Morrill and Walker, senior Alex Simmons (31G/24A) will take over the keys of the offense as the Pioneers’ top returning attackman while Jack Hannah and Ted Sullivan will headline things at the midfield position. Hannah put up 47 points off 37 goals and 10 assists as the Pioneers’ top midfielder last season. Sullivan had 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points.

Junior JJ Sillstrop (11G/3A) will likely slide back into a starting role at attack after taking more of a back seat as a sophomore, playing in just eight games with four starts. The California native started all six games at attack as a freshman during the shortened 2020 season. Similarly, graduate student Riley Curtis and Ellis Geis could very well step up and take on starting roles at the midfield after a 2021 campaign which saw the duo serve as two of the Pioneers’ top reserve midfielders.

With an experienced core of Simmons, Hannah, and Sullivan, as well as Sillstrop likely to take on a bigger role, Denver has the foundation in place needed to succeed on the offensive end of the field in today’s game. How exactly offensive coordinator Matt Brown will structure the offense around this core is the real question heading into the 2022 season on that end of the field.

The Pioneers have also added Mercyhurst (DIII) grad transfer Caleb Kueber. A native of Victoria (B.C.) and product of Claremont Secondary, Kueber was a three-year starter for the Lakers and was a top-three scorer all three seasons as a starter. The attackman led the Lakers with 88 points off 56 goals and 32 assists as a senior during the 2021 season, helping to lead them to an NCAA Semifinals appearance. If he can make that seamless transition from DIII to DI as others have, Kueber could also be a major asset for the Pioneers this spring.

No matter how this Denver offense gets structured, they can almost count on winning the possession battle the majority of the time. While replacing Ierlan is nearly impossible, the Pioneers return another dominant faceoff man in Alec Stathakis. The Michigan native and Culver product made his presence known across the college lacrosse landscape as a freshman in 2020, serving as Denver’s top option at the dot and going 62% during the shortened season. He continued as the Pioneers’ top option for the majority of the 2021 season, where he went 191-for-301 (63%), before sharing time with Ierlan for the final nine games. He ended the season ranked eighth nationally in faceoff percentage.

With Stathakis back, as well as senior Brett Boos, its not out of the realm of possibility to think the Pioneers could have the best one-two punch at the dot for the second consecutive season.

Perhaps the defensive end of the field is where some of the biggest questions lie, overall, for this Pioneers squad heading into the 2022 season. LSM/D AJ Mercurio (19GB/11CT), defensemen Jack DiBenedetto (21GB/11CT) and Adam Hangland (17GB/4CT), and goalie Jack Thompson (56% save percentage) all return with a wealth of experience after two seasons as full-time starters. However, the losses this unit suffers are pretty brutal.

Squires was a multi-year leader on the back end while Logan and Smith were two of the most impactful players on either end of the field for Denver this past season. The three were massive pieces of what ended up being the 11th-ranked scoring defense in the nation (10 goals allowed per game), along with Quinnipiac, Navy, and Boston U.

Senior defenseman Mac Tezak could very well fill that hole at close defense after starting four games in 2020 and being the Pioneers’ top reserve close defenseman in 2021. Mercurio or Malik Sparrow, who have spent most of their careers at LSM but have been bumped down to close a few times before, could also be possible options to fill that spot. Additionally, highly-rated freshman Jimmy Freehill could also have a shot, after all Denver hasn’t been afraid to put their trust in freshman before. The Pioneers featured a defense in 2020 that was nearly an all-freshman unit.

Senior Matthew Marino is the top returning true SSDM for the Pioneers, playing in 11 games last season and collecting three ground balls and forcing one turnover.

Denver comes into the 2022 season after seeing their season end on their home turf with Loyola’s Sam Shafer making the save of the year. While there are plenty of questions surrounding both ends of the field, this squad appears to have the foundation needed to get back to the top of the Big East for the first time since 2015 and possibly get back to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 2018.
rolldodge
Posts: 1087
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2019 10:28 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by rolldodge »

A fourth Denver-Georgetown Big East championship game meeting is almost a given in 2022.
I don't think this statement is even remotely true. Denver needed OT to escape with a win in their last game vs Villanova, and Gtown only won the semi-final by 2, pulling away only at the end.
DU-fan
Posts: 1309
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:04 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by DU-fan »

rolldodge wrote: Thu Aug 26, 2021 5:14 pm
A fourth Denver-Georgetown Big East championship game meeting is almost a given in 2022.
I don't think this statement is even remotely true. Denver needed OT to escape with a win in their last game vs Villanova, and Gtown only won the semi-final by 2, pulling away only at the end.
I was really impressed by Villanova at the end of season. The win over Lehigh was also very impressive. I think the Big East will be a very competitive conference this year. I hope there are more inter conference games and the Big East makes a statement in 2022.
cherrylax
Posts: 102
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 11:39 am

Re: Denver 2022

Post by cherrylax »

Just saw on the Denver roster that Reed Babcock was no longer listed. Thought he had a chance to be a break out player this year and fill that Austin French/Logan Bobzien roll with the Pio's.
Farfromgeneva
Posts: 22321
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:53 am

Re: Denver 2022

Post by Farfromgeneva »

cherrylax wrote: Tue Sep 07, 2021 1:00 pm Just saw on the Denver roster that Reed Babcock was no longer listed. Thought he had a chance to be a break out player this year and fill that Austin French/Logan Bobzien roll with the Pio's.
Anyone like Lampert as a meaningful contributor? His brother Jimmy spent 5yrs w Hobart wasn’t much recruited but we got him because his HS coach is a Hobart alum (same as Michael’s coach-Marcus Craigwell) but it’s not a legacy name hs.
Same sword they knight you they gon' good night you with
Thats' only half if they like you
That ain't even the half what they might do
Don't believe me, ask Michael
See Martin, Malcolm
See Jesus, Judas; Caesar, Brutus
See success is like suicide
ABClaxfan
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2018 7:30 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by ABClaxfan »

Farfromgeneva wrote: Tue Sep 07, 2021 1:05 pm
cherrylax wrote: Tue Sep 07, 2021 1:00 pm Just saw on the Denver roster that Reed Babcock was no longer listed. Thought he had a chance to be a break out player this year and fill that Austin French/Logan Bobzien roll with the Pio's.
Anyone like Lampert as a meaningful contributor? His brother Jimmy spent 5yrs w Hobart wasn’t much recruited but we got him because his HS coach is a Hobart alum (same as Michael’s coach-Marcus Craigwell) but it’s not a legacy name hs.
He got decent run for as a freshman on a team with 68 players
Farfromgeneva
Posts: 22321
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:53 am

Re: Denver 2022

Post by Farfromgeneva »

ABClaxfan wrote: Tue Sep 07, 2021 1:25 pm
Farfromgeneva wrote: Tue Sep 07, 2021 1:05 pm
cherrylax wrote: Tue Sep 07, 2021 1:00 pm Just saw on the Denver roster that Reed Babcock was no longer listed. Thought he had a chance to be a break out player this year and fill that Austin French/Logan Bobzien roll with the Pio's.
Anyone like Lampert as a meaningful contributor? His brother Jimmy spent 5yrs w Hobart wasn’t much recruited but we got him because his HS coach is a Hobart alum (same as Michael’s coach-Marcus Craigwell) but it’s not a legacy name hs.
He got decent run for as a freshman on a team with 68 players
He’s also 5’7” which is rare to be a starter on a top ten team unless you’re one of the UNC kids from a few years back.
Same sword they knight you they gon' good night you with
Thats' only half if they like you
That ain't even the half what they might do
Don't believe me, ask Michael
See Martin, Malcolm
See Jesus, Judas; Caesar, Brutus
See success is like suicide
DU-fan
Posts: 1309
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:04 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by DU-fan »

cherrylax wrote: Tue Sep 07, 2021 1:00 pm Just saw on the Denver roster that Reed Babcock was no longer listed. Thought he had a chance to be a break out player this year and fill that Austin French/Logan Bobzien roll with the Pio's.
Sorry to see Reed leave the team. He definitely had a good opportunity to be a big contributor this year. Patrick Noonan is also not on the roster. He is a sophomore from Chaminade. Last year, he played in the Providence and St. John's games, but did not have any stats.

Denver has two new Canadians on the roster from British Columbia where Matt Brown grew up. Wes Berg also grew up in BC. Noah Manning, a freshman, is also from BC.

Casey Wilson Midfield Fr. 6-1 200 Victoria, B.C. / Claremont

BCJALL 2021 leader in goals and second in overall points….2019 Minto Cup runner-up…2018 NCJBT1 2018 playoff goals leader and third in points…2019 Claremont Lacrosse MVP.

Caleb Kueber Attack Gr. 6-2 200 Victoria, B.C. / Claremont

USILA All-American First Team (2021)...USILA First Team All-North Region (2021)...US Lacrosse Magazine All-American Second Team (2021)...Great Midwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year (2021)...Great Midwest Athletic Conference First Team All-Conference (2021).

Mercyhurst 2021 Season: Started in all 14 games for the Lakers, leading the team in both points (88) and goals (56) while ranking second in assists with 32. He recorded multiple goals in every game, but one. His season-high was six, which he hit twice against Molloy (Mar. 7) and Lake Erie (Apr. 28). In a four-game stretch versus Wheeling, Westminster, Lake Erie and Walsh he racked up 20 goals and 13 assists.
cherrylax
Posts: 102
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 11:39 am

Re: Denver 2022

Post by cherrylax »

DU-fan wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:33 am
cherrylax wrote: Tue Sep 07, 2021 1:00 pm Just saw on the Denver roster that Reed Babcock was no longer listed. Thought he had a chance to be a break out player this year and fill that Austin French/Logan Bobzien roll with the Pio's.
Sorry to see Reed leave the team. He definitely had a good opportunity to be a big contributor this year. Patrick Noonan is also not on the roster. He is a sophomore from Chaminade. Last year, he played in the Providence and St. John's games, but did not have any stats.

Denver has two new Canadians on the roster from British Columbia where Matt Brown grew up. Wes Berg also grew up in BC. Noah Manning, a freshman, is also from BC.

Casey Wilson Midfield Fr. 6-1 200 Victoria, B.C. / Claremont

BCJALL 2021 leader in goals and second in overall points….2019 Minto Cup runner-up…2018 NCJBT1 2018 playoff goals leader and third in points…2019 Claremont Lacrosse MVP.

Caleb Kueber Attack Gr. 6-2 200 Victoria, B.C. / Claremont

USILA All-American First Team (2021)...USILA First Team All-North Region (2021)...US Lacrosse Magazine All-American Second Team (2021)...Great Midwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year (2021)...Great Midwest Athletic Conference First Team All-Conference (2021).

Mercyhurst 2021 Season: Started in all 14 games for the Lakers, leading the team in both points (88) and goals (56) while ranking second in assists with 32. He recorded multiple goals in every game, but one. His season-high was six, which he hit twice against Molloy (Mar. 7) and Lake Erie (Apr. 28). In a four-game stretch versus Wheeling, Westminster, Lake Erie and Walsh he racked up 20 goals and 13 assists.
Not a whole lot of film on Casey Wilson - but was the leader in points in junior A this season for Victoria. Apparently he was supposed to go to Harvard last year, but due to Covid never went.
DU-fan
Posts: 1309
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:04 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by DU-fan »

I think this is the only Denver fall ball game this year.

Saturday 10/23 - 12:00 pm - Varsity vs Alumni @ Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
cherrylax
Posts: 102
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 11:39 am

Re: Denver 2022

Post by cherrylax »

Tweet from Ty Sanders: 4 star senior Aidan Aitken ‘22, M, Salisbury (Conn.) @Sweetlax_Fla has committed to @TerpsMLax
. A longtime Denver commit, Aitken is a highly athletic dodger who has taken his game to another level in the past year: https://youtube.com/watch?v=JIHDBdF0MnU&t=31s

Tillman is a notorious poacher of talent, but my beef is not with him or even that this happens to Denver almost every year. My beef is with the fact that Denver always seems to be the victim of poaching and never seems to be the poachers. Recruiting has definitely changed in the last few years (I think for the better) but it doesn't appear that we have adapted to those changes.

Let me also say we have had a ton of recruits poached from Ivy league schools over the years, and I do not fault those kids for taking the opportunity to go to an Ivy. Any kid who wants to/Has the grades to go to an Ivy or Academy deserves a tip of the cap, but you can not tell me that we should be losing kids to Maryland or Syracuse.

It also hurts the image of our team that we're constantly losing kids to "Blue Bloods", and not taking any from them.
InsiderRoll
Posts: 1220
Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2021 3:46 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by InsiderRoll »

cherrylax wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 10:43 am Tweet from Ty Sanders: 4 star senior Aidan Aitken ‘22, M, Salisbury (Conn.) @Sweetlax_Fla has committed to @TerpsMLax
. A longtime Denver commit, Aitken is a highly athletic dodger who has taken his game to another level in the past year: https://youtube.com/watch?v=JIHDBdF0MnU&t=31s

Tillman is a notorious poacher of talent, but my beef is not with him or even that this happens to Denver almost every year. My beef is with the fact that Denver always seems to be the victim of poaching and never seems to be the poachers. Recruiting has definitely changed in the last few years (I think for the better) but it doesn't appear that we have adapted to those changes.

Let me also say we have had a ton of recruits poached from Ivy league schools over the years, and I do not fault those kids for taking the opportunity to go to an Ivy. Any kid who wants to/Has the grades to go to an Ivy or Academy deserves a tip of the cap, but you can not tell me that we should be losing kids to Maryland or Syracuse.

It also hurts the image of our team that we're constantly losing kids to "Blue Bloods", and not taking any from them.
I’m not really sure what Denver offers over those other schools that would put them in a position to poach kids from blue bloods but ok.
10stone5
Posts: 7052
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:29 pm

Re: Denver 2022

Post by 10stone5 »

cherrylax wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 10:43 am
It also hurts the image of our team that we're constantly losing kids to "Blue Bloods", and not taking any from them.
I don’t much care about image.
Now results ….

Pios have done just fine, 12 NCAAs since going DI in 1999,
7 Quarterfinals, 5 Final Fours, 1 National Title, over 60%
winning percentage,

a very very few teams with those sorts of credentials.
Post Reply

Return to “D1 MENS LACROSSE”