The No. 2 Denver men’s lacrosse team returned from Bradenton, Florida where the Pios lost 22-6 in an exhibition match against the United States National Men’s Lacrosse Team at IMG Academy Stadium on Jan. 10.
Mile High Sportsperson of the Year, Head Coach Bill Tierney, mentioned there were a lot of positives to take away from the match.
“It [the match] was mostly finding out about ourselves; ultimately, it was a great learning experience for us,” said Tierney.
Tierney described the contest as “men against boys,” considering the average age for the Pios is around 20 and a half, compared to the average age of the National Team of roughly 27. However, Tierney made it clear that the program strongly emphasizes no excuses.
Of Denver’s six goals netted throughout the match, four were delivered by underclassmen.
Freshman Austin French (Danville, California) was the sole player to tally the scoreboard for the Pios during the first half on an extra man advantage (EMO). Sophomore Brendan Bomberry (Ohsweken, Ontario) scored Denver’s second off of an EMO opportunity just before the midpoint of the third quarter.
Nate Marano (Tustin, California) scored the first even-strength goal for the Pios during the third and later converted his second with 1:10 remaining in the match.
Along with freshman attacks French and Marano, Tierney was impressed by the freshman class and their performance.
“Dylan Johnson (Englewood, Colorado) proved he’s going to be a great defender, Colton Jackson (Highlands Ranch, Colorado) will run on one of [our] first two midfield lines and Ryan Harnisch (Huntington Beach, California) will be a good face-off addition to sophomore Trevor Baptiste (Denville, New Jersey),” said Tierney.
The question of who will start in goal still remains; freshman Alex Ready (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) started the first half of the match and junior Hunter Krout (Naples, Florida) split time in net with senior Joey Gigantiello (Shamong, New Jersey) during the second.
David Winsor (Boulder) is currently out for four to six weeks recovering from a broken finger that required surgery over break.
“Even the most seasoned veteran gets fatigued, so you need two or three goalies, that’s for sure. There’s still time for us [the coaching staff] to evaluate who will start,” said Tierney.
As Denver looks to reclaim their championship title this season, returning players are taking leadership on and off the field, while the freshmen are adapting to the level of play expected.
“Everybody thinks that when you win a championship it won’t happen again or you’ve lost too much talent, but you’ve got to make sure you aren’t filling the guys who graduated with just freshmen. The guys who were freshmen or sophomores last year are the ones who are going to step up and replace the seniors who graduated,” added Tierney.
Denver returns threats on net; junior Maryland transfer, Connor Cannizzaro (Cazenovia, New York) along with classmates Tyler Pace (Coquitlam, British Columbia) and Zach Miller (Steamburg, New York) in the midfield.
USILA First-Team All-American and BIG EAST Conference Midfielder of the Year, Trevor Baptiste, returns as Denver’s face-off specialist.
Two-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American Christian Burgdorf (Westfield, New Jersey) and senior Pat Karole (Glen Ridge, New Jersey) return in defense for the Pios.
The Pios have mild training for the next couple weeks before their next exhibition match, giving the team time to prepare for the official start of their season.
“We need to continue, now, to look at the mistakes we made, incorporate the guys who weren’t there [in Florida] and move forward with a lot of hard work,” said Tierney.
Denver faces No. 6 John Hopkins in Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium at 10 a.m. on Jan. 30.
