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The DU men’s lacrosse team knocked off then No. 3/4 Duke 15-9 in the final game of the first-ever Mile High Classic at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Friday night in front of a crowd of 12,282 people.
Freshman goalie Ryan LaPlante was named game MVP for the Pioneers (8-5, 3-3) and donned a large brass chain around his neck after the victory, encapsulating the team’s new motto – “no weak link.”
“The chain is a new Denver tradition, and it means no weak links and makes sure everybody does their part and works their hardest out there on the field,” said LaPlante, following his 16-save effort against the Blue Devils (13-4), who entered the game on a 10-game win streak as winners of the ACC postseason championship.
The Fort Collins native was electric throughout the evening, making big stop after big stop to lead the Pioneers to their biggest win of the regular season.
“He was terrific, and he was the difference tonight,” said Duke head coach John Danowski.
LaPlante recorded seven key saves in the second half as Duke tried to rally from a one-goal deficit at halftime. He was integral in helping the Pioneers protect their second-half lead, which they failed to do in previous weekends, surrendering fourth quarter leads in back-to-back games against Loyola and Fairfield.
“I don’t think that in athletics you deserve anything, but after a win like this with all the tough losses we have suffered this season, I feel like we deserved this one,” said head coach Bill Tierney in the post-game press conference. “When you have an 18-year-old out there making 16 saves, you’re going to get a spark and a boost of confidence, and I think that really helped us.”
In addition to LaPlante, the Pioneers were led by senior captain Mark Matthews, who finished with a season-high seven points on five goals and two assists. Matthews spearheaded a Denver attack unit that found the back of the net nine times in the second half, extending their lead to as much as six goals in the third quarter.
“We came out really strong, burying a few early shots [in the first quarter] and building the lead, but we knew they’d make a push to get back into it, so we wanted to continue what we had done in the first half in the second half,” said Matthews. “We know once we get going on offense, we are a tough team to stop. A lot of guys deserve credit.”
Fellow senior attackman Alex Demopoulos is amongst those deserving credit, as he finished the game with four points on a pair of goals and a pair of assists, extending his point streak to 48 games.
Junior Eric Law recorded five points off three goals and two assists, while freshman Wes Berg notched three points on two goals and an assist, coming off the Pioneer bench.
“We changed the mentality this week; instead of protecting leads, we wanted to get a lead and keep on rolling, which I thought we did,” said Tierney. “We kept going and we got some amazing play from all our attackmen tonight. There’s a different mentality at this point in the season, and I think those guys understand that.”
The unsung hero for the Pioneers was junior midfielder Chase Carraro, who could have taken home MVP honors himself following a strong performance in the face-off circle against Duke’s All-American C.J. Costabile.
Carraro propelled two vital DU runs in the second half, one in the third quarter and one in the fourth quarter, winning four crucial face-offs and scoring twice.
“C.J. is an animal, so I knew it was going to be a tough matchup,” said Carraro. “A few times he made me pay, but I eventually settled in and was able to get into a groove. He might have tired out a little bit, so that was big for us late in the game.”
Carraro noted that the team was focused on increasing their lead coming out at halftime and wanted to not be satisfied at any moment in the second half.
“We’ve let teams back in the game in the second half after we’ve taken leads, and we definitely wanted to keep our focus on putting them away in the second half tonight,” said Carraro. “We knew it was going to have to be a complete game effort against these guys.”
While they dominated Duke in the second half, Denver remained sloppy as they have in previous weeks with some of its possessions, committing 15 turnovers throughout the game, including five in the first quarter.
Despite this, Tierney and his players acknowledged the victory provides Denver with much-needed confidence as they enter the postseason. DU was 1-4 against ranked opponents entering the matchup and another loss could have severely affected their mindset heading into this week’s Eastern College Athletic Conference postseason tournament.
“This game was huge for us and we knew that going in,” said Carraro. “We have a short turn around into the conference tournament next week, so if we didn’t win this game, we would have entered that game against Loyola with zero confidence. Now, we have built some confidence back up and have momentum going into playing the No. 1 team in the country.”
Loyola rematch expected to be a “battle”
The postseason begins tomorrow for the Pioneers, when they host No.__ Loyola at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium at 5 p.m. in the semifinals of the ECAC tournament.
It is a rematch of a game played on April 14, when they then-No. 4 ranked Greyhounds came from behind to knock off the Pioneers 12-9 in front of a sold-out crowd.
The win catapulted Loyola to No. 1 in the national rankings, a position they held for two weeks until they lost 10-9 in overtime to No. ___ John Hopkins on Saturday.
Following the loss, the Pioneers went on to earn the No. 4 seed in the ECAC tournament; while the Greyhounds clinched the regular season title and No. 1 overall seed.
Loyola went undefeated in conference play this season and is almost guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament, whether or not they win the conference tournament.
Each team enters the contest after facing a top-10 opponent last weekend; DU rides the momentum from their win at the Mile High Classic as Loyola remains confident despite receiving their first loss of the year.
“We’re playing the No. 1 team in the country on Wednesday, and they’ve already beat us at our place, so it won’t be an easy task,” said Tierney. “I’m sure they will come out here ready to win the ECAC title, but we feel we can give them a battle and it will be a heck of game for people to see.”
The Pioneers will benefit this time around from having a healthy lineup, according to Tierney.
“Mark’s been playing with a broken hand for most of the season and having him fully healthy along with guys like Cam Flint to help us,” said Tierney.
The matchup between goalies promises to be the showcase of the first game of the tournament as Loyola’s Jack Runkel takes on LaPlante.
Runkel, a sophomore, averages only 7.28 goals a game this season, making 86 stops for a Greyhound team that averages 12.42 goals a game.
The game could determine the Pioneers’ fate in the NCAA tournament. Before the Duke game, Tierney said the team would need to win the ECAC tournament to make the NCAAs. Friday’s win will help DU, but that still may hold true, which means this game is a de facto must-win game.
Last time they played, Loyola handed DU their only two-plus goal loss in a fourth quarter rout. Since then, the Pioneers have found their confidence, according to Tierney, which could prove to be the difference tomorrow night.
“The thing that’s been missing from this team is confidence, because we haven’t won those close ones,” said Tierney after the victory. “This win comes at the right time for us.”
