Denver men’s lacrosse team celebrated Homecoming Weekend with scattered activities and events throughout the weekend. On Oct. 16 the Pios received National Championship recognition during the Denver hockey game against Michigan State University.
On Saturday Oct. 17 their annual Alumni Game took place followed by an in-state match against Colorado State University at the Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
The team was recognized at center ice after the first period of the DU vs. MSU matchup. Denver was honored for their first NCAA National Championship title in the 2015 season.
At 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, all DU alumni were invited to participate in a Crimson vs. Gold scrimmage. The game was refereed by current players; Jeremy Boshner (Kamloops, B.C.) and Nate Marano (Tustin, California) with fan support from current players in the stands.
Former members of the Pioneer lacrosse team; 2015 National Champion Wesley Berg (Coquitlam, B.C.), Jeremy Noble (Orangeville, Ontario) and Chase Carraro (Louisville, Kentucky) made appearances at the Alumni Game.
The game was split into two 30-minute halves. Crimson took the lead early on, but was matched quickly by Gold. The first half ended after Crimson received momentum to give them a 7-4 lead.
Alums and current players joined together for a halftime talk from Pioneer Head Coach, Bill Tierney.
The second half was evenly matched, as both teams fought back and forth to end in a 10-9 final score favoring the Crimson.
At 1 p.m. Denver took the field in an exhibition match against Colorado State’s club team. The Pios dominated the play to earn a 27-7 final score.
“Our goal for today was not to be concerned with who we were playing or what color they were wearing,” said Tierney.
Throughout the match, Denver had 16 different players contribute to the scoreboard.
Junior Connor Cannizzaro (Cazenovia, New York) racked up four goals and three assists with classmates Zach Miller (Steamburg, New York) and freshman Austin French (Danville, California) each scoring three points. Sophomore Colton McCaffrey (Parker, Colorado) tallied closely behind Cannizzaro’s seven points with two goals and four assists.
The starting position for goalie is still up for grabs, as the match was split between freshman Alex Ready (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) teammate David Winsor (Boulder, Colorado), junior Hunter Krout (Naples, Florida) and senior Joey Gigantiello (Shamong, New Jersey).
Ready was in goal for Denver during the first half, totaling three saves. Winsor stepped in the third quarter coming up with four saves. The fourth quarter was split by Krout and Gigantiello who saw little to-no action thanks to Denver’s energetic attack.
“We feel good about all four of our goalies right now, but the jury is still out and we have a long winter ahead of us,” said Tierney.
At halftime, the Pios and Rams joined together to cheer on a center-field scrimmage put on by the non-profit Unified Lacrosse. Unified Lacrosse is an organization that supports athletes with disabilities by teaching them how to play lacrosse alongside the partnered support of local, Cherry Creek High School athletes.
“Halftime was as moving of an event as I’ve ever been a part of,” said Tierney.
Denver ended their evening with the annual postseason banquet held at Cherry Hills Country Club, honoring the National Title and distributing the much anticipated Championship rings.
The Pios return for their next exhibition game against John Hopkins University on Jan. 30 in Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium at 10 a.m.
