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Former Marquette defensive coordinator and Hofstra (2006) stand out John Orsen joined head coach Bill Tierney's staff in September of 2014 as an assistant coach and the defensive coordinator.
Orsen coached four-time All-American selection Christian Burgdorf to his first-ever first team award from the USILA. Burgdorf was drafted by the Atlanta Blaze in the 2017 MLL Collegiate Draft. In his fourth year, Orsen once again coached faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste who earned his fourth-straight USILA First Team award, the sixth player in the history of the award to earn First Team All-America honors in all four collegiate seasons.
In his first season as the Pioneers' DC and faceoff coach, the national-champion Pioneers were 12th in the nation in scoring defense (8.47) and second in scoring margin (+5.26). In six postseason games in 2015, the Pioneers defense held their opponents to less than 10 goals in four of them, including limiting Maryland to just five scores in the National Championship game.
Denver had a USILA Second Team All-American in sophomore Christian Burgdorf and an Honorable Mention All-American in senior Carson Cannon in 2015.
Under Orsen's watch, freshman faceoff-specialist Trevor Baptiste set the NCAA record for faceoff wins by a freshman, and recorded the fourth-most faceoff wins in NCAA history (310). Baptiste was named a USILA First Team All-American in the duo's first year together.
Following the 2015 National Championship, Orsen’s second campaign saw the Pioneers win their third-straight BIG EAST Regular Season titles en route to earning its highest national seed in the NCAA Tournament in program history. In the campaign, the Denver defense was 21st in scoring average (9.13), eighth in man-down defense (0.706) and seventh in ground balls per-game (32.44).
Orsen coached First Team All-Americans Christian Burgdorf and Trevor Baptiste in 2016.
In 2017, Denver got back to Championship Weekend for the second time in Orsen's tenure. The Pioneers faceoff crew led the country once again, while the Denver defense finished 13th in scoring defense (8.76). DU was second in scoring margin (+4.71) and 19th in ground balls per game (30.18).
Baptiste once again earned USILA First Team honors, while Burgdorf capped off his career with a second team selection.
In 2018, Orsen's defense finished third in the country in scoring defense at 7.88 goals per game, including a stretch of 27 goals allowed in five BIG EAST regular season games, the first time in Denver's program history that the Pioneers held five-straight opponents to six goals or less. The 27 goals allowed in a five-game stretch was also the lowest in the program's history since 1970.
Orsen coached USILA Third Team All-America pick Dylan Gaines and Honorable Mention selection Dylan Johnson.
Denver's 2019 defense ranked fifth in the country in scoring defense, while finishing 72nd in saves per game. Matt Neufeldt finished sixth in the country in caused turnovers per game. In the first year without Trevor Baptiste, Orsen coached freshman Brett Boos to the 26th best faceoff percentage in the country at 58-percent. SSDM and captain Danny Logan and senior close defenseman Dylan Gaines earned Honorable Mention All-America honors.
Orsen was a member of Marquette's inaugural staff, helping officially start the Golden Eagles' program in 2013. The Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., native was hired in May of 2011 to assist Marquette head man Joe Amplo in starting the program. In their first campaign, Marquette went 5-8, and Orsen coached the Golden Eagles' defense to a No. 18 national mark in ground ball margin.
In 2014, Marquette went 6-10, including 4-2 in the BIG EAST, earning a conference tournament semifinal appearance. Orsen's defense played a key role in the Golden Eagles' four BIG EAST wins a year ago, including holding Georgetown to one goal in the final 23:36 of regulation, giving the offense the opportunity to turn a 9-3 second half deficit into an 11-10 victory.
As a player, Orsen transitioned from attack to defense while at Hofstra, earning a spot on the USILA All-America Honorable Mention squad in his final collegiate campaign. In that 2006 season, Orsen and the Pride reached the NCAA Quarterfinals after a 14-8 win over Providence in the first round. Orsen captained his club in both his junior and senior seasons, leading the team to a 17-2 mark in 2006, and earning First Team All-CAA honors.