Photo by:
The DU men’s lacrosse team came back from several deficits Saturday night but couldn’t overcome 15 costly turnovers as they lost 12-9 to then-No. 4 Loyola in front of a sold-out crowd at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
With the victory, the Greyhounds (11-0, 5-0) clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, which DU will host May 2-4, and moved up to No. 1 in both national polls.
As for the Pioneers (7-4, 3-2), the loss marks the team’s first defeat at home this season and snaps DU’s three-game win streak, while also hindering the Pioneers’ postseason chances as they fall into 4th place in the ECAC standings behind Loyola, Ohio State (6-3, 3-1) and Fairfield (10-2, 3-1).
With the loss, DU falls from No. 8/10 in the polls to No. 10/12 in the national rankings.
The Pioneers entered the contest with the possibility of tying Loyola for the conference lead but failed to seize the opportunity, losing for the third time to an opponent ranked top-10 in the country.
“It was just a frustrating night because that’s another big opportunity we had, and those are dwindling, so we’ve got to win [now],” said head coach Bill Tierney. “We’ve got a chance to not be in the ECAC tournament, so we’ve got our backs against the wall.”
If DU can’t win on the road next week against Fairfield, then there is a possibility Air Force (6-5, 1-3) can usurp the No. 4 seed in the ECAC tournament from their in-state foes with a pair of conference victories in the final two weeks of the regular season.
While the focus is being placed on this weekend’s crucial matchup at Fairfield, Tierney acknowledged Saturday’s loss will be hard to ignore as the team failed to capitalize on several opportunities.
Junior Chase Carraro was dominant in the face-off circle in the loss, winning 21-of-25 opportunities (84 percent) and collecting a game-high 14 groundballs; however, his individual effort went for naught as the Pioneers couldn’t finish around the goal, scoring only nine times on 38 shots, while losing several late possessions on inadvertent turnovers.
“Credit goes to them for taking away the breaks that Chase got,” said Tierney. “There were just too many turnovers, too many bad offensive decisions. Their goalie played very well, but it’s just frustrating that we didn’t have a better result. But that’s why they’re No. 4 in the country.”
Tierney was adamant about crediting the Loyola defense, which stifled the high-octane Denver offense for the majority of the game.
“I thought they were one of the better teams we’ve seen all year,” said Tierney. “They’ve got good short-sticks, good long-sticks, three decent defensemen and a very good goalie, so you’ve got to work for the goal, and 38 shots and you only get nine goals, that’s not helping us.”
Despite a pair of three-goal runs, the Pioneer offense, which has averaged 12.7 goals per game, suffered from inconsistency, especially late in the third quarter, where the team has struggled before this season.
Sophomore midfielder Jeremy Noble recorded a hat trick in the contest, but similar to Carraro, his individual effort was not enough as the Loyola defense clamped down on senior attackman Mark Matthews, who was held to one point off an assist.
After taking their first lead of the contest mid-way through the third quarter, the Pioneers were dominated down the stretch as the Greyhounds outscored them 5-1 to end the game.
The Loyola defense had a large part to do with that as goalkeeper Jack Runkel made eight saves, three in the fourth quarter, to keep Loyola’s 11-game streak of not allowing double-digit goals intact.
The youthful and inexperienced Denver defense showed signs of maturity at different points of the game as freshman Ryan LaPlante made 12 crucial stops in net. However, they were over-matched and couldn’t handle the Loyola offense as attackmen Mike Sawyer and Eric Lusby went for three and two goals, respectively.
Denver takes on No. 17 Fairfield this Saturday afternoon. The team plays their final regular season game against No. 5/7 Duke on April 27 at Sports Authority Field in the Whitman’s Sampler Mile High Classic, hosted by Inside Lacrosse. The Blue Devils recorded a 13-5 victory over then-No. 1 Virginia on Friday.
Tierney said the Pioneers are determined to finish the regular season on a high note.
“When you’re preparing for these kinds of teams, the one good thing is that you don’t have to walk out to the team and tell them to get excited,” said Tierney. “They’re already excited, on their toes and ready to go.”
