Denver women’s lacrosse is having the best season in program history. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Head Coach Liza Kelly’s prior 16 years at Denver have been building to this, a season where DU is a legitimate national title contender.
This is Kelly’s 17th season as Denver’s women’s lacrosse coach, a position she has had great success in, going 214-76 since coming to the Mile High City from Boston University. Despite that regular season success, Kelly and DU have struggled to get over the hump in the NCAA tournament, only making one quarterfinal matchup and never advancing beyond that stage in Kelly’s time with the program.
However, this year the team has a different feel to them, winning their first 15 games including wins over Maryland and Boston College who were both in the top five rankings at the time. This has led to them being ranked third in the country, the highest ranking in program history.
Kelly acknowledged that this team was different, saying she knew the team was special around the time of fall ball prep.
“They have been focused all year and were very excited about the challenges in our schedule. They have come out every day ready to compete and be their best selves,” said Coach Kelly. This focus has led to the program reaching a new level this season.
Kelly’s teams have always been built around a stout defense, regularly ranking in the top ten for scoring defense and turnovers forced. They have taken that to another level this season, ranking second in turnovers forced and first in scoring defense. The team is allowing 5.92 goals per game this season, which is 1.37 goals fewer than the second-ranked team. For context, that differential is greater than the difference between the second-ranked team in the nation and the ninth-ranked team.
Coach Kelly looks upon the field | Photo courtesy of Isaiah Vazquez/Clarkson Creative via DU Athletics“We have a lot of buy-in on the defensive end. I think they enjoy playing a unit-style defense. They are very athletic kids that take a lot of chances,” said Coach Kelly.
The lynchpin of that defense is senior Sam Thacker (Lutherville, Md.) who personifies the smart, aggressive, athletic defending that Denver is known for. She was a first-team All-American last season, and she is very likely to repeat that this season.
While they are not as good on the offensive end, ranking outside the top 50, they have enough firepower to support the elite defense. Senior attacker Julia Gilbert (Mclean, Va.) has led the way so far, scoring 40 goals in the first 15 games. Kelly said that Gilbert has been successful due to her willingness to adapt her game every season.
“She has done a good job changing her game each year. I think she brings something different to the table every year,” Coach Kelly remarked.
According to Kelly, this year Gilbert has added “leadership and dependability” to her game as well.
“We have a younger attack around her and for the younger kids to look to her and know she is going to score helps relax everybody,” she said.
Due to the sustained success, Liza Kelly signed an extension that will keep her at DU until 2028, a move that will keep DU as the preeminent program west of the Mississippi River. “We have built something really special here. I know a lot of coaches feel like they need to go to big-time football schools to win a national championship, but my goal is to win one here,” Kelly commented.
While there is still a long way to go in the women’s lacrosse season, this season is Kelly’s best opportunity yet to bring a championship home.
