In a freezing, 30 degree mix of rain and snow conditions, the No. 3 ranked Denver Pioneers completed their three-game road stint by earning a contiguous 12-11 victory over the No. 19 Villanova University Wildcats. The showdown between two of the nation’s top five offenses battled down to the final minutes.
Junior United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association First Team All American (USILA) Connor Cannizzaro (Cazenovia, New York) dominated Denver’s offense, recording his second-career sock trick (six goals), including the game winner. USILA First Team All American Trevor Baptiste (Denville, New Jersey) won 16 of 27 faceoffs. Freshman netminder Alex Ready (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) finished with a season-high 16 saves.
“They play a unique offense that’s constant motion,” said head coach Bill Tierney. “It’s not one of those games where you can wait, set up the ball and play. It’s quicker, just a completely different type of game.”
Denver struggled to combat Villanova’s speed and tenacity. The Pioneers jumped to an early 2-0 lead with tallies from freshman Dylan Johnson (Englewood, Colorado), scoring his career-first goal and Connor Donahue (Groton, Massachusetts). Villanova quickly responded, netting two of their own just 3:30 into the game. Denver’s attack configured a three-goal run to send Denver up 5-2 at the end of the first quarter, with conversions from Cannizzaro, Zach Miller (Steamburg, New York) and Donahue.
The Pioneers returned with the first tally of the second quarter from senior captain Jack Bobzien (Littleton, Colorado) to extend Denver’s lead 6-2. Villanova’s Joey Froccaro cut the deficit down to three before Cannizzaro netted his second of the day. Joey Froccaro’s brother, Jake, sparked the first goal of Villanova’s three-goal run to complete the first half. Denver led 7-6 going into the locker room.
“Villanova’s got three players on their team that, looking on last years scouting report, were the three highest players we were worried about,” said Tierney. “Now, they are numbers four, five and six. Nova’s really improved. Now they have six guys that can put the ball in the net and that’s scary.”
The Pioneers shutout Villanova’s offense during the third quarter, as Cannizzaro tallied a hat-trick to broaden Denver’s lead 10-6.
Denver was unable to continue their strong defense, as Villanova’s high-powered attack strung together a five-goal run in the final quarter. The Wildcats took the lead for the first time in the game, 11-10.
With 3:07 remaining in the final stanza, junior captain Tyler Pace (Coquitlam, British Columbia) fed Miller who fired from 12 yards out to even the score. Nine seconds later, Baptiste won the faceoff and played Cannizzaro who netted the game-winner from the point.
The Pioneers’ triumph over Villanova extended their BIG EAST conference win streak to 17 games, marking the ninth longest streak in NCAA Dl men’s lacrosse history. The Pioneers are now 9-1 overall and 2-0 in conference this season as they look to repeat their National Championship title.
“It’s definitely challenging,” said Bobzien. “Everyone targets you as the reigning champion, but at the same time, it keeps us going and we want that target to be on our back instead of someone else’s back.”
Denver will play St. John’s University on April 16 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Faceoff is at noon.
