Photo by: Adam Hammerman
The Pioneer lacrosse programs will graduate 12 seniors this spring, as eight men and four women say goodbye to DU and Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
Men’s
On the men’s side, the Pioneers graduate a class that helped lead Denver to its first NCAA tournament victory and first Final Four appearance in 2011, making the Pioneers the first team West of the Mississippi River to qualify. With the postseason being uncertain, this week will likely mark those players’ final game at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium as the Pioneers host the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday and Friday.
After this season, Denver will lose the program’s all-time Divison I leading scorers attackmen Mark Matthews and Alex Demopoulos, who, at the end of the regular season, have recorded 53 and 39 points, respectively. Matthews became Denver’s all-time points leader (205) after his performance against Duke on Friday, in which he posted a season-high seven points on five goals and two assists to propel then-No. 16 Denver to a 15-9 upset over No. 3/4 Duke.
Demopoulos currently sits at 4th in all-time points (168) and 2nd since the program went Division I in 1998. He also leads the program all-time in assists. The Connecticut native is currently riding the second-longest point streak in the nation, having scored at least one point for the past 48 games. With a 42-game point streak, Matthews sits in 5th.
“Our seniors have done a lot for our program,” said head coach Bill Tierney. “We [the coaching staff] came in two years ago when they were sophomores, and they had to adopt to a new system. Mark and Alex have been the offensive point leaders for three years in a row now. They’ve done a great job on the field. The class of 2012 has experienced a lot of success.”
After concluding their careers at DU, both Matthews and Demopoulos will advance to the ranks of Major League Lacrosse to play for the Denver Outlaws and the Ohio Machine, respectively.
“It’s a really cool opportunity that I get to keep going [with the Machine],” said Demopoulos. “But I’ve been focusing on finishing up with DU on a positive note first.”
Last week, Matthews made the cut for the list of 25 student athlete nominees for the Tewaaraton Award, the nation’s highest honor in Division I lacrosse. The pool will be narrowed down to 10 finalists next month. Despite his personal success, however, Matthews remains focused on his team.
“It’s special to be with these guys and be part of this program,” said Matthews. “These are the guys who have held on for four years.”
Joining Matthews and Demopoulos in the men’s senior class are defensive players Cal Kennedy, Liam Resch and Steven Wylie, goalkeeper Troy Orzech and midfielders Henry Miketa and Patrick Rogers. While these players haven’t received as much recognition as Matthews and Demopoulos this season, Tierney stressed their importance to the team, both as players and as role models.
“The [senior] who has come the furthest is Henry Miketa,” said Tierney. “After being an offensive player in high school, he has done a good job of becoming our best short stick defensive midfielder.
“I’m also really proud of Troy Orzech. He hasn’t had the time on the field I’m sure he wishes he had, but he’s been a really good captain, a really good leader for us and helped the team a great deal.”
Tierney also pointed to injuries as a major cause of some of the seniors receiving less playing time, especially in the case of Rogers.
“Pat has had kind of an up-and-down career as far as injuries, but he is certainly the kind of young man we want here,” said Tierney. “He’s a 3.9 student who works very hard on the field.”
Women’s
On the women’s side, the Pioneers will lose goalkeeper Ashley Harman, defensive player Laura Connors, midfielder Melissa Maier and attack Becca Steinberg, who played their last game at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium against San Diego State on April 9.
“They’re a great group of girls,” said head coach Liza Kelly. “They all bring something very different to the team, both on and off the field. Melissa is one of the hardest working people I have every coached. Ashley allows us to play a really athletic defense. Laura is an incredible leader and the most vocal person on sidelines, and Becca is just a deadly little attacker.”
Although the diverse positions of this year’s senior class will leave the 2013 squad with experienced players throughout the field, Kelly predicts losing Harman in the goal will be the biggest change for the Pioneers as Harman has protected the goal for Denver since her freshman season in 2008-2009.
Redshirt freshman Hannah Hook, however, has played in five games in goal for the Pioneers this season, logging more than two hours of playing time and recording 13 saves.
“Every time you graduate people, it’s hard to fill those shoes,” said Kelly. “But you don’t really know [what to expect] until you get there. It will be interesting to see who we have on the team that steps up [next year]. We’ve got a lot of kids who have gotten a lot of playing time this year who will be able to fill in those shoes.”
The women’s senior class will leave DU with the best regular season record and longest win streak in program history after posting a 12-game winning streak and a 12-2 overall record, going 6-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. While excited at the success of this season, the seniors are all reluctant to end their careers as Pioneers.
“It’s sad, because your whole life is lacrosse since third grade,” said Maier. “It’s bittersweet going into the real world.”
