Not that many people know about Peyton Tyrie, but they should because he is just as important to the men’s lacrosse team as anybody.
Tyrie, the team’s backup goalie, serves a unique role on the team. His job is to simulate what the opposition’s goalie will play like in the next game. He studies other teams’ goalies and helps the DU offense get the look they need at the opposition’s defensive techniques during practice.
Sometimes Tyrie has problems simulating the goalies because of his height and left handedness.
“When we play a left-handed goalie it is usually up to me,” Tyrie said. “Especially Notre Dame, they have a left-handed goalie, but he is like a foot taller than me so I could not give them the best look for that one. But the Ohio State goalie was about my size.”
He must have done a good job in practice the week leading up to the Ohio State game because the Pioneers were able to score in the double digits for a win.
Tyrie started playing lacrosse when he was in fourth grade. His father played college lacrosse at Maryland, where the sport is huge. So when his family moved out to Colorado, the sport grew on him.
“I have always played goalie since I was a little kid,” said Tyrie. “I just thought it was neat and wanted to do it I guess.”
He was a multiple sport athlete in high school at Arapahoe where he lettered in lacrosse and in cross country track for his entire four years.
Coming out of high school Tyrie was being recruited by DU and from schools out east. But he found that DU was the better choice for him.
“I was getting recruited the heaviest by DU,” said Tyrie. “The more that I looked at other schools the more I realized that I like being in Denver. Every time that I went to the east coast it was way to hot and humid. Denver just kept looking better and better.”
Now playing in his senior season for the Pioneers, he is loving the experience of being able to play for head coach Bill Tierney. It looks as if the decision to stay in Denver paid off.
“I like Coach T (coach Tierney), and I like playing for him,” said Tyrie. “It was pretty neat last summer when everyone started talking about getting Coach T out here.”
Tierney has helped with everyone’s confidence. The high confidence that the Pioneers possess is important this year, heading into the NCAA Tournament after a rout in the ECAC championship game against Loyola.
It is the second time in Tyrie’s career that he has got to go to the NCAA Tournament.
“We got to go my sophomore year and it is just a really cool experience,” recalled Tyrie. “I am excited to go and excited that everyone on the team gets to go.”
With their appearance in the tournament and the arrival of Tierney, Tyrie and the Pioneers are building on the concept of the Western Lacrosse Movement.
“I think that it still has a ways to go to catch up to New York and Maryland,” said Tyrie, “but I think it is doing good, and having Coach T out here is going to help a lot.”
Although this year marks the last year in Tyrie’s Pioneer career there is still plenty of good lacrosse that he can partake in after his body has a chance to get a rest, according to Tyrie. The tournament is just around the corner and Tyrie’s role is more important now than it has been.
In the upcoming week, Tyrie needs to simulate the nation’s top goalies in order for his team to be successful.
Everyone on the team has an equally important role whether you’re a starter or not, and Tyrie will be the first one to express his support for his teammates.
