After consecutive losses to the eventual national champions in the 2011 and 2012 NCAA tournaments, the 2013 season is officially underway for the DU men’s lacrosse team, and the Pioneers are looking to break the cycle.
Two years ago, the Pioneers made the program’s first Final Four appearance in their 14-8 loss to Virginia, who proceeded to claim the school’s fifth national title. Last season, Denver (9-7) suffered its sixth one-goal loss of the season to Loyola in the quarterfinals, ending the season with a 10-9 loss.
This season, however, the Pioneers are prepared to write a different story in the coming months, according to head coach Bill Tierney. Denver was ranked No. 2 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which was released on Friday, second only to defending national champion Loyola.
“It’s a whole new year, and there are so many good things to talk about,” said Tierney. “We have some great senior leaders and captains. We have a good, big freshman class, and they’re all talented kids. It’s an exciting time for DU lacrosse.
“Even though we had some good things last year, we feel like we really came up a little short. Six one-goal losses, fourth place in the ECAC—that’s not where we want to be. We want to win the ECAC championship and we want to be back in the hunt for a national championship.”
The No. 8/9 Pioneers demonstrated this goal with their first regular season game on Saturday—a 14-12 upset of No. 4/5 Duke on the Blue Devils’ home turf, snapping Duke’s nine-game win streak at home, which was the longest active streak in the nation. Sophomore attackman Eric Adamson led Denver on Saturday with a career-high five goals and one assist.
“I am so proud of our team for making the adjustments that we asked them to make in the locker room and trusting and believing in themselves,” said Tierney. “Duke is a great team with very talented and athletic young men who really made it tough for us in the first half to get into any kind of rhythm. We’ve got a great group of senior leaders who really stepped up to lead this team today.”
After topping one of the top teams in the country, the Pioneers continue the 2013 regular season with a competitive schedule, taking on two more top-15 teams in their next two contests. Denver’s next two opponents—Penn State this Saturday in Florida and Lehigh at the DU Face-Off Classic on Feb. 23—are ranked No. 15 and No. 10/11, respectively.
“That’s one thing Coach Tierney does really well; he really creates your experience as a college lacrosse player by putting you up against high-quality opponents,” said senior midfielder and captain Chase Carraro. “These are games you’re going to remember for the rest of your life.”
The difficulty of the Pioneers’ schedule will carry over into conference play, which begins March 9. Denver will face-off with Loyola, the defending national champions, Fairfield (No. 16) and Ohio State (No. 19/20), all three of whom topped the Pioneers at least once last season. The Pioneers will also host No. 3 Notre Dame in the Whitman’s Sampler Mile High Classic at Sports Authority Field on March 16.
Depth is key for Pioneer roster
The DU roster boasts depth across the board this season, returning eight of its 10 starters, the entirety of its starting defense and its first midfield, which consists of Carraro, junior Jeremy Noble and senior Cameron Flint and has been lauded as one of the top midfield lines in the country.
“When you have eight of your 10 starters back, it’s really comforting,” said Tierney. “It’s really nice to know you have guys who aren’t going into big games for the first time.”
Noble leads the Pioneers’ returning players after recording 46 points last season off 25 goals and 21 assists, trailing only former senior attackmen Mark Matthews and Alex Demopoulos, who were both selected in the 2013 MLL draft at the end of last season. Noble was named All-ECAC at midfield on Friday.
“Jeremy is going to be on the field more than anybody out there,” said Tierney. “He can play offense, he can play defense and he’s a great groundball guy. He’s become a really vocal leader and really one of the most dynamic players on the team.”
The Pioneers are also led this season by four senior captains: Carraro, Flint, attackman Eric Law and defenseman Drew Babb.
“Forgetting lacrosse, they are four of the greatest young men I have ever been around,” said Tierney. “They care about each other, and they care about their teammates. Each one of them brings something different.”
Carraro finished the 2012 season ranked No. 8 in the country with a 0.604 face-off win percentage, earning 217-of-359 for the Pioneers and leading Denver to a No. 5 team ranking in face-offs. On Friday, he was also named All-ECAC as a specialist.
Flint, who struggled with injuries last season, is now in his second season as captain, while Law trailed only Matthews with 26 goals last season, and Babb forced a team-high 11 turnovers while racking up 21 groundballs.
Despite returning eight starters, the graduation of Matthews, Demopoulos and six other seniors left large shoes to fill on the Pioneer offense, as the two attackmen combined for 192 points last season. Stepping into the open positions at attack are sophomore midfielder Wes Berg, who tied Noble with 26 goals last season, and freshman attackman Gordie Koerber, who was ranked as one of Lacrosse Magazine’s 15 College Rookies to Watch last September.
In Saturday’s contest against Duke, Berg and Koerber were two of Denver’s top scorers, recording two and three goals, respectively. Koerber was also ranked the ECAC Preseason Rookie of the Year by the conference on Friday.
Berg received the same honor in his debut season in 2012 and was named All-ECAC at attack this season.
“We’re adjusting better than I thought we would [to losing Mark and Alex],” said Carraro. “We’ve had some really high quality freshmen come in that are really stepping up for us in our scrimmages and practices. Eric Law has done a fantastic job of taking over where Alex Demopoulos used to play, and his leadership has really propelled the younger guys to elevate their games even more.”
Defensively, the Pioneers return a number of key players, including sophomore defenseman Carson Cannon, who was named All-ECAC at defense last week.
The depth of the Pioneer roster even extends to the goal, where sophomore Ryan LaPlante holds the starting position after taking over last year when then-sophomore Jamie Faus tore his Achilles tendon five games into the season.
While LaPlante currently holds the starting position, Faus’ reestablished health will allow him to vie for the position.
“It is certainly a coach’s dream to have two young men who can play goalie for us,” said Tierney. “It’s very comforting to know that if we ever have the need, that if someone is hurt or not playing well, we have another great one right behind him.”
Going up against Duke, LaPlante recorded a career-best 18 saves, only three shy of DU’s record of 21, which was set by Jeff Nunziato in 2003.
What’s to come
Looking forward, both Tierney and Carraro iterated goals of claiming the conference championship and attaining a national title. According to Carraro, the key is treating every game as a significant one. Tierney said he is confident in his team’s ability and work ethic.
“Our goals are very high,” said Tierney. “We think we have a shot at the ECAC title, and we think we have a shot at the national championship, but things can always fall the other way like they did a year ago. I think we have the chemistry, the team and the leadership, and we certainly have the talent.”
The Pioneers will play their first home games when they host the DU Face-Off Classic at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium Feb. 23-24. Air Force, Lehigh and Canisius will attend.
