DU Men’s Lacrosse dropped their 2017 fall ball finale 8-7 to the alums on Oct. 21 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, but out shot the alumni in a whopping 67-32. The current Pioneers also held a 39-20 advantage in ground balls.

For the current Pioneer team, junior attackman Austin French (Danville, Cali.) scored the first two goals of the game for the Pioneers. Junior midfielder Colton Jackson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) followed French’s example and netted a third quarter hat trick to propel Denver to a 5-2 third quarter and a 7-5 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.   

Three-time USILA First Team All-America selection Trevor Baptiste (Denville, N.J.) proved his title as he won 18 of 19 faceoffs and picked up eight ground balls.

In goal for the current Crimson and Gold, junior David Winsor (Bozeman, Mont.) played the first 30 minutes for Denver, making six saves and allowing three goals, while sophomore Josh Matte (Issaquah, Wash.) and freshman Tristan Wright (Reno, Nev.) split the second half, each saving 50% of the shots they faced on goal.

Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium saw incredible play from its graduates as 2016 Tewaaraton Award Finalist and 2017 MLL Champion Connor Cannizzaro led the alumni with four of their eight goals, and the Cannizzaro brothers played together on Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium for the first time since the 2015 National Championship season. Sean  Cannizzaro added to the brothers’ tally in the win with a goal and an assist of his own.

Denver Outlaw Eric Law scored once for the alums and added two assists in the fall exhibition match-up.

For the Alumni, the goalie tandem that guided the Pioneers to Championship Weekend in 2013 and 2014 of Ryan LaPlante and Jamie Faus made 19 saves in the Saturday scrimmage, and allowed only seven goals. LaPlante, who earned NCAA All-Tournament team honors in 2015, made 11 of those saves in the second half.

The Alumni scrimmage closed the DU Men’s Lacrosse fall exhibition, and the team now prepares for regular season in the spring.