Denver 2019

[DU-fan]

It is great to have a home game. Seems like it was fall ball since the Pioneers were home on Feb 24th against Cleveland State.

What a tremendous rebound from the Princeton game! Denver looked sharp in all parts of the game.

Four stats that Denver needs to improve at:

• Clearing #65 Denver 95 Clears 124 attempts .766

• Man Up Offense #61 Denver 6 EMO Goals 26 attempts .231

• Goals per game #31 Denver 70 goals, 11.67 per game

• Shots on goal #30 Denver 70 goals, 241 shots .290

Big improvements on all the areas that needed improvement.

Clearing: Denver was 16-18 @ .889
Man Up Offense: Denver was 1-3 @ .333
Goals per game: 16 vs. Georgetown
Shots on goal: 16 Goals, 32 Shots on Goal, 49 Total Shots

Turnovers: Only 8
Ground Balls: 34
Face Offs: 18/29 .620

Ball Movement, passing and GB hustle was very good today.

Austin French: 4G, 2A, 8 SOG, 3 GB
Ethan Walker: 3G, 2A, 6 SOG, 2 GB
Jack Hannah: 2G, 2A, 4 SOG, 1 GB
Colton Jackson: 3G, 1A, 4 SOG, 2 GB
Brett Boos: 2A, 1 SOG, 7 GB, 17/26 Face-Offs .653
Johnny Marrocco: 1G, 1A, 1 SOG, 1 GB
Ted Sullivan: 2G, 4 SOG
Ellis Geis: 1G, 1A, 1 SOG
Danny Logan: 8 GB
Kyle Smith: 4 GB

Defense looked very sharp. I really like Matt Neufeldt on the wing during face offs AND dropping back to close D. Overall, they played well as a unit today.

Alex Ready was very good with 12 saves and a .600 save %. He also had a number of great ground balls and hustle plays out of the crease.

This was Denver's best game of the season.

[DU-fan]

Nice article by Puck Swami. Great job.

Pioneer Offense Explodes for Tierney’s 400th Career Victory, 16-9 over Georgetown
by Puck Swami

The DU team applauds coach Bill Tierney (center, red jacket) for his 400th career victory after DU's 16-9 win over Georgetown at Barton Stadium

After losing a one-goal heartbreaker in DU coach Bill Tierney's emotional return to Princeton University last Tuesday, the #9-ranked Denver Pioneers desperately wanted to get head coach Bill Tierney his 400th win as a head coach on Saturday, March 30th.

Georgetown, the 19th ranked team in the nation and a team that beat DU 8-3 in last year's Big East Tournament, was the big obstacle in front of Denver.

But the Pioneers left no doubts, exploding for a season-high 10 first-half goals and cruised to a 16-9 victory over Georgetown for the Pioneers' most complete win of the season.

The win also guaranteed the 400th career victory in the 35-year head coaching career of coach Bill Tierney. Tierney now joins his good friend, Duke Head Coach John Danowski, as the only two men in the history of Division One lacrosse to reach that 400 coaching win milestone.

The Pioneers (6-3) took the field in charged-up state of mind on this cold and snowy Barton Stadium morning, hooting and hollering more than usual in the warm-up - and that emotional advantage, coupled with a solid game plan on both sides of the ball, led to a 16-goal offensive output against a ranked team. This was the kind of potent offense DU fans were waiting for this season for a very solid opening win in Big East Conference play.

"Coming out of that game [last Tuesday] at Princeton, we were down-and-out," said Coach Tierney after the win. "But the guys responded to coaching really well [this week] and the [assistant coaches} coaches put together a great game plan, and the [DU] players played extremely well today...When you lose a game [at Princeton] that you feel you could have won...you gotta get the next one - you're so desperate...I'm proud of the guys today."

The Pioneers responded to the desperation with crisp offensive execution, with very balanced scoring on the day, with five different Pioneers scoring multiple goals. Senior Austin French topped the DU scoresheet with a four-goal, two assist day, followed by hat tricks from Ethan Walker (3g 2a) and Colton Jackson (3g, 1a), and supplemented by two-goal performances by Teddy Sullivan and Jack Hanna[h]. The Pioneers scoring machine was fed by a strong performance at the face-off X (Brett Boos went 17-26 on the day), a confident clearing effort (16-18) and good ball control, giving up only eight turnovers. DU led 10-5 at the half and never looked back.

"[DU Associate Head Coach] Matt Brown had a good game plan and the [team] followed it." said Tierney. "We only only had one turnover in the first half...and the [Georgetown] goalie was playing well. We said to the guys in the locker room 'Keep shooting. Don't be afraid to shoot, don't let your hands get too tight, just keep shooting' and they [goals] will eventually fall - [we] got a bunch of shots and they did [fall] ."

Indeed, Georgetown goalie McElroy was heroic for the Hoyas in the net, make 16 saves in a losing effort.

Denver also played solid defense on the day, holding a strong Georgetown offense, averaging 13+ goals per game to only nine goals. DU's star close defenseman Dylan Gaines had an excellent outing, containing Georgetown's star attackman, Senior Daniel Buccaro, to only two goals in the game, while DU goalie Alex Ready chipped in with 12 saves to get the Pioneer victory.

DU will play #[20]-ranked Villanova next Saturday at 3:30 pm MT in the second Big East game for the Pioneers.

[Puck Swami]

Appreciate the kind words on my write up.

This Georgetown performance is the Denver lacrosse that we want to see for the rest of this season - complete games, played with emotion, confidence and concentration. If DU can play like that the rest of the way, they will win the Big East.

There isn't very much to complain about in a game like that, but I am sure the team can find things to work on to get better.

Second midfield is one area that continues to struggle, and there seems to be a real drop off there that the Pios can hopefully figure out so that they can can be more effective than just a rest solution for the top guys.

Bring on Villanova.

[DU-fan]

Second midfield is one area that continues to struggle, and there seems to be a real drop off there that the Pios can hopefully figure out so that they can can be more effective than just a rest solution for the top guys.

It looks like the lines are:
First midi line - Jackson, Sullivan, Hannah
Second midi line - Rutan, Simmons, McKone

Riley Curtis also played on both lines and man up.

WIth Rutan and Curtis normally playing attack, this gives Denver extra attack men on the offensive side. Danny Logan is also playing more on the offensive side.

The second line moved the ball well, took good shots, and only had 1 turnover. But, they did not get an assist or goal.

[Puck Swami]

Danny Logan is the glue that holds this team together, IMHO. He's all over the field, making things happen and inspiring his teammates. Great motor and GB skills, too.

Seems to me that Neufeldt has proven he's very effective down low in close defense, and should be there the rests of the season to develop more chemistry with the other close D. Still think if he had played more close D against Princeton, the Pios would have won that game.I have no problem using him on the wing for face-offs, either, as long as he's able to sprint back to Defesne once the face-off is picked up.

Good to see French taking more shots, even though he isn't the best shooter out there. That takes pressure off Walker, and sometimes it takes a while to get Ethan on target.

I also like to see Jackson dodging toward the goal as a complementary player to Sullivan. That puts pressure on a defense to see a 200lb man rumbling toward goal, and takes pressure off Jackson to only be known for his step-down blasts (although 4-5 of those per game helps stretch the defense and makes him into a Perkovic-like presence for the Pios.

Sullivan has perfected his Alley Dodge, and he has the ability to do more. He's a good passer, and draws the defense out. If he can become more multi-dimensional, it helps the DU offense.

I was also glad to see DU finally score on a man-up. The Pioneers should have a top level man-up unit...

[Puck Swami]

After watching this DU team yo-yo up and down this year from game to game and even quarter to quarter this year --- its clear that no one knows what kind of team performance we will see on a given day. Good games often follow bad games for DU, but i've seen enough bad lacrosse this year from the Pios to know that what we see overall is not up to the high standards the program has set for themselves.

We've had so much lax excellence for years now at DU that we fans expect every Denver team to be a top 5 team every year. That's a lot of expectation and perhaps simply not realistic...

Teams that win too often eventually become more complacent. You see this in all sports.

[10stone5]

27 and 0 over six seasons in regular Big East play.
First Big East loss.
That’s a good stretch.
It had to end some time.

Matt Neufeldt is from Naperville IL.
Naperville IL.
I lived and worked not far from Naperville, really not that long ago.

So there’s more going on here at Denver.
Yes, success in the NCAAs.
But more also.

[cherrylax]

I want to preface this post with saying that I have met our starting goalie and he is a really nice kid and an excellent teammate. Saying that I have said it once and I will say it again 29.4% save percentage is simply unacceptable. Don't get me wrong goaltending is not the only issue this team has, but I have never seen a team stick with a player with such blind loyalty as this team has. He has had some good games, but when it comes down to it the team that won this weekend had the better goalie.

I invite any discussion about why we should stick with the current goalie situation, but I would point out the fact that in the four losses DU has had this season the save percentage has been 29.41%, 44%, 33%, and 17%. At this point DU will not make the NCAA tournament without the AQ, so what do we have to lose by opening up the goalie competition?

[DU-fan]

I agree that the Villanova game was decided by goalie play for the most part.

Clearly good defense helps goalies and shot placement by the opposing team makes a big difference too. DU had about 5 shots in a room after scoring the first that went right to Villanova goalies's stick. He went on to have an excellent day with 19 saves.

I thought Alex had trouble seeing the ball in warm ups. And he did not see the ball well during the game. There were definitely a few he should have saved. I am sure he had some confidence issues with such a low number of saves and Will Vitton playing so well.

I assume Alex is the most consistent goalie in practice. I think this is his best season. He has definitely won a couple games for Denver. But he has always struggled in a few games each season, and it hurts DU. I thought Denver would have brought Josh Matte in or another goalie, but they did not. It might have something to do with Ryan LaPlante not coaching this year, as they don't have a coach specializing in goalies. Managing goalies and their mental side is an important part of the game, and I am sure the coaches look for consistency over the season vs. just a bad game here or there.

But, as you point out. Denver is now forced to win the Big East Tournament or miss the NCAA tournament. Hopefully, they respond by playing great and going on a win streak.

[Puck Swami]

The thing about Alex is that he is streaky, rather than consistent, and it's been that way all four years of his career. When he is "on" - he looks like one one of the best goalies in the country, and the team generally wins those games, too. He's a competitor and a senior, and the team feeds off him when he's doing well. I've heard he's a great kid, too, so I can see why they want to stay with him...

But when when he struggles, he gets lit up, and it's flat out deflating.

Tierney has said many times he needs a 50% saves percentage out of his goalies in order to win, and that's just about where Ready is (49.4%) right now for the season. But the process of getting there is a roller coaster - I'd rather have him just be 50% every game and I think DU would win 75%-80%, but the down games are crushers and the good games don't quite compensate for the bad ones. I am sure they watch the other goalies in practice, but I guess they don't feel enough confidence in them to make a change.

[10stone5]

I invite any discussion about why we should stick with the current goalie situation, but I would point out the fact that in the four losses DU has had this season the save percentage has been 29.41%, 44%, 33%, and 17%. At this point DU will not make the NCAA tournament without the AQ, so what do we have to lose by opening up the goalie competition?

Personally, I don’t see DUs problems, as it were, really this is just a down year relative to the past 7-8 — as goalie related.
There are a lot of other factors. Goalie play in certain games is one of them. Injuries is another. Not having a player or two from last year, with remaining eligibility is a third. Losing certain recruits is a 4th. The Wilson brothers were scheduled to play this year at DU, before they changed their commitments to Yale and decided to play a PG year before entering college. Other BE teams catching up to DU, talent-wise, is another.

Are you going to see another DU team with a Connor Cannizarro, Tyler Pace, Brendan Bomberry, Zach Miller, Jack Bobzien, Trevor Baptiste et al any time soon ?
Probably not, probably the days of that kind of talent stacking are past.

Here is a good opportunity for DU to go on a mini streak, three winnable games ahead.

Put the team in a position as the number one or two seed, get to the finals.

A possible seeding in the NCAAs.
Probably not, this year.

[DU-fan]

Alex Ready was not seeing the ball.

Cole French will make his collegiate debut as St. John's ties it at 6-6 with under 12 to play in the half.

[DU-fan]

Cole French 9 Saves 6 GA .600 Save %. Alex only had 1 save.

I would expect Cole to play against Providence. Will be interesting to see how the rest of the season goes.

[10stone5]

I’m not surprised Cole French stepped in to a difficult situation and played well under pressure. French has been playing high pressure goalie since he was a freshman at San Ramon Valley. I am surprised and really had no idea Cole French had beat out the other goalies for the back up position.

So then, what, is it that Tierney is going to rely heavily on his stable of North Coast CIF players ?
Again, this would not surprise me. They are all well coached in local club ball as well as prep, but especially they get the high competition experience in club ball, the Outlaws, 3d — French, French, Quinn McKone, Colin Rutan — they were all North Coast CIF (CA) all stars.

[DU-fan]

Good game summary: https://denverpioneers.com/news/2019/4/ ... 15-12.aspx

DENVER – Junior Ethan Walker (Peterborough, Ontario) netted his third career sock trick to lead the [13/15] University of Denver men's lacrosse team to its second BIG EAST win of the season, a 15-12 victory over St. John's on Saturday afternoon at DaSilva Memorial Field. Walker tied a season-high with seven points on the afternoon, adding an assist to go with his six tallies.

Senior Quinn McKone (Novato, Calif.) turned in the first multi-goal game of his career, a hat trick to provide the second-most tallies by a Pioneer on Saturday. Freshman Brett Boos (Parker, Colo.) finished 22-of-31 with eight ground balls from the faceoff dot, turning in a season-high and the 10th-most faceoff wins in a single-game in Denver's Division I history.

Freshman goalie Cole French (Danville, Calif.) made his collegiate debut with 12 minutes to go in the second quarter, reliving senior Alex Ready (Lancaster, Pa.) with the score tied at 6-6. French made nine saves on 15 St. John's shots on goal in his first collegiate win. Freshman midfielder Alex Simmons (Smithville, Ontario) had Denver's only other multi-goal game, finishing with a pair, including a man-up goal. Sophomore Ted Sullivan (Tucson, Ariz.) had a three-point afternoon out of the Denver midfield with a goal and two assists.

St. John's shot out of the gate to take an early 2-0 lead after goals from Joe and Mike Madsen. The Pioneers responded with three-straight in a 2:35 span. Walker had two of his four first half goals sandwiched around freshman Austin Stewart's (Arlington, Va.) first career goal in his first collegiate start. The teams exchanged goals to tie it up at 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 before Denver ended the first half on a 4-1 run to take a 10-7 lead into the half. Simmons, junior Schuyler Blair (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Walker scored in the 3-3 exchange between the two teams. Blair's goal was the first of his collegiate career.

Senior Colton Jackson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) opened the 4-1 run that ended the half, followed by two goals from McKone and Walker's fourth of the day.

Boos gave Denver the possession advantage in the opening 30 minutes, winning 16-of-19 faceoffs in the first half.

St. John's cut the Denver deficit to two in the third quarter, taking the frame 3-2. After a Red Storm goal 45 seconds into the quarter, Sullivan's 13th of the season and McKone's hat trick goal made it 12-8 Pioneers. Colin Bosak and Joe Madsen made it 12-10 St. John's after three.

Walker opened the fourth quarter scoring with his fifth of the day, but Declan Swartwood got St. John's right back on the board to cut the Denver lead back down to two. Simmons' second and Walker's sixth finished the Denver scoring to make it 15-11 with 1:45 to go in the game. Colin Duffy pulled one back for the Red Storm with 1:23 to play to wrap-up the scoresheet.

UP NEXT: The Denver men's lacrosse team, Presented by Your Hometown Toyota Stores, will return home next weekend (April 20) to take on Providence. DU's Senior Day will faceoff at 12 p.m. MT on Altitude and ESPN Denver 1600. Denver will close out the 2019 regular season at Marquette on April 26 at 8 p.m. CT/7 p.m. MT. The season finale will be broadcast live on FS1 and ESPN Denver 1600.

[Denver14]

Missed the start of the game. What were the other changes to line up today? Seemed there were some shifts on O, Geis/Schuyler Blair, McKone saw more time than usual, and of course the Frosh goalie. Interesting to see how close all the DU losses were this year - 3 of the 4 by one goal. A few different bounces, and DU could be number one in the polls, instead of looking, hopefully, at a four game win streak as our ticket to the tourney.

[Puck Swami]

It's more than a "few bounces" that are keeping DU from being a top-level team this year - the stats don't lie:

-DU offense ranks #23 in the nation at 12 goals per game. Respectable, but not elite.
-DU shot percentage is #40 nationally at 28%. Well below DU standards.
-DU clearing percentage is #52 in the nation at 80%. Dreadful.
-DU man-up is #63 in the country at 24%. Unfathomable.
-DU goalie Alex Ready is #59th nationally at 48% saves percentage which points to a loss of his starting job. Disappointing for a senior.

These statistics point out the obvious - DU is underperforming this year and the team is well below the Tierney standards of excellence that we've seen over the last decade. It's the seventh-ranked defense nationally that is holding DU up this year...

Perhaps a relative down year is what is needed to restore the hunger and high performance level to the program.

[10stone5]

-DU goalie Alex Ready is #59th nationally at 48% saves percentage which points to a loss of his starting job. Disappointing for a senior.

Well.
Let’s see.
Either Cole French can light a fire under Ready, or they could just go with the kid.
I’d say he can handle the pressure as Cole has faced high pressure since he was a freshman in high school.

Having access to Nate Marano and the Wilson brothers, Skylar and Griffin Wilson, would have helped this year. Skylar Wilson is grading out as a five star player and Griffin isn’t too far behind. That’s a boatload of presumed talent which they do not have on the team.

Austin French being out the first four games put the Pios square behind the eight ball.

Why they don’t make greater use of Drew Erickson is a mystery. Are they going to redshirt Erickson since he’s appeared in only three games ?

And with all that, with Villanova’s loss to Georgetown, that put a lot of doubt on who will win the Big East auto qualifier, you’d think the Pios go back to the top of the heap, at least for this week

[lostcoast14]

A couple of observations:

Cole French had a terrific game last week, his father would be very proud. Ready has been inconsistent but when he's on, he's great. A coach's call.

Austin French was missed during those first four games, but the PIOs did go 3-1 in his absence, losing one they should have had against Duke.

I suppose it's easy to say "should have would have", but looking at players that aren't here seems useless. This team has plenty of talent, a veteran core group and a very good freshman class. Frankly, Dylan Johnson's injury and very tough situation and I understand Ellis Geis injured as well. He did not play last week. For some reason, offense has not played to their potential yet.

Drew Erickson has a rocket of a shot but he's a lefty attackman and his raw ability is not going to replace Walker or French. I'm sure they've looked at him at middie to get him on the field -- who knows.

I'm excited for the offense to ramp it up the next two final regular season games and the Big East. If we score 13-14 goals a game, good things will follow. We will see....

[Denver14]

It's more than a "few bounces" that are keeping DU from being a top-level team this year - the stats don't lie:

Not discounting all the data, but, with 3 one goal losses it remains true that a few bounces the other way and DU would be ranked in the top five, deserving or not. Be interested to see the goalie decision this week, and whether that impacts not just the save percentage, but the clearing success.