DU Men’s Lacrosse hosted the University of Tokyo last Saturday in the Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Saturday’s game began the Men’s Lacrosse three-game fall slate for the Pioneers as they warm up for the regular season. The game experimented with a 60 second shot clock as part of the NCAA’s fall experiment.
Admission was free, but the stands were filled sparingly with alumni, lacrosse fans and DU undergraduate students who dropped into the stadium in passing. Temperatures were in the low 50s, and the players and the crowd experienced light showers in the third quarter, as DU dominated their Tokyo opponents, scoring close to 30 goals.
Key players in the fall match-up were returning stars, senior face off, Trevor Baptist (Denville, N.J.), senior midfielder, Jeremy Bosher (Kamloops, B.C.), senior midfielder, Connor Donahue (Gorton, Mass.), junior attack, Austin French (Danville, Calif.) senior midfielder, Nick Phillips (Denver, Colo.) and junior midfielder, Quinn McKone (Notavo, Calif.). Players who didn’t see a lot of 2016-17 minutes contributed greatly as well with, junior midfielder, David Funes (Seattle, Wash), sophomore face off, Sean Penna (Exeter, N.H.) and junior face off, Ryan Harnisch (Huntington Beach, Calif.) contributing greatly in the Pioneer-Tokyo matchup.
DU scored the first goal of the preseason exhibition, and held their offensive momentum for the rest of the game. The team played well together, amounting several stellar goals with a flow of passes and assists across the offensive side of the field. The Pioneers also seemed to dominate at face off. Head coach Bill Tierney switched the face off players regularly, starting with Baptists and as the game progressed, playing with Penna and Harnisch. Coach Tierney had a similar pattern with all positions on the field. Like the face off, star goalie Alex Ready (Lancaster, Pa.) started the game strong, but junior David Winsor (Bozeman, Mont.) and sophomore Josh Matte (Issaquah, Wash.) saw plenty of playing time as they defended their net.
On the defensive end, senior Chris Sullivan (Tucson, Ariz.), senior Matt Jones (Denver, Colo.) and junior Dylan Johnson (Englewood, Colo.) helped lead the Pioneers to their victory.
To continue their fall exhibition games, the Pioneers will head to Washington D.C. on Oct. 15 to face Limestone, followed by an alumni game held at Peter Barton Stadium on Oct. 21.
