Another year, another conference championship for the Denver Pioneers men’s lacrosse team.
The Pios waltzed seemingly unscathed through regular season and tournament play in the Big East, outscoring opponents 115-53 through seven conference games. Even in the closest game against Providence College, the Pioneers won by four. The Big East Championship game was one of the least exciting games for lacrosse fans, with DU winning by eight.
So far, the stars seemed to be aligned in such a manner to suggest a deep run in the tournament by the Pios. You may as well label Denver’s next two matches as home games. They’ll not only host Brown University in the First Round at Peter Barton Stadium (May 9 at 1 p.m.), but would only have to travel six miles north for a quarterfinal game at Sports Authority Field.
You can never overstate the importance of travel or lack thereof. The top ten programs in the country are clustered on the Atlantic with the University of Notre Dame as a slight outlier and Denver sitting out in left field. Bill Tierney and company will no doubt be thankful for basically two home games to open the playoffs.
Denver was also blessed with a young FOGO (face off, get off) guru who has been nothing short of phenomenal in his first year of college lacrosse and may very well provide the missing piece to the puzzle–something that the Pios lacked in last year’s tournament run.
Trevor Baptiste (Denville, New Jersey) has posted an ungodly .725 win percentage at the x, and with 259 faceoff wins he has set the NCAA record for faceoff wins in a season by a freshman. Baptiste was so phenomenal he’s been named the Big East Midfielder of the Year.
A slew of Pioneers made the All Big East First team. Defenders Christian Burgdorf (Westfield, New Jersey) and Carson Cannon (Stillwater, Minnesota) were selected, as well as Wes Berg (Coquitlam, British Columbia), Connor Cannizzaro (Cazenovia, New York), Zach Miller (Steamburg, New York) and Erik Adamson (Anaheim Hills, California) on the offensive end.
For the first time in the history of the game, a champion may reside west of the Mississippi River. No pressure.
And if it doesn’t happen this year, then when? There’s always next year? Maybe so?
Believing that is nice and all, especially since Tierney has found a way to regroup and recharge for the past three years. But it’s tough to imagine a better opportunity than the present one.
Berg, the school record holder for points and goals, will not be with Denver next year. Cannon, a four-year starter at defense, will not return. Ryan LaPlante (Fort Collins, Colorado), the Big East Goalkeeper of the Year in 2014, will bid adieu as well.
The Pioneers have met expectations. Now they need to make history.
