THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
• Then eighth-ranked Duke erased a 6-2 and 7-4 deficit in the second half in Durham to pull out a 10-9 victory over the Pioneers last Saturday in the Blue Devils' second-straight win over Denver in Durham.
• DU returns home this weekend (Feb. 23-24) to take on NCAA newcomers Utah and Cleveland State in the 2019 Faceoff Classic. Denver and Utah will square off Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m. MT, before the Pioneers host Cleveland State on Feb. 24 at 1:30 p.m. MT. Both games will be streamed live on Pioneer Vision.
• Following this weekend's Faceoff Classic, the Pioneers won't return to Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium until they open BIG EAST play on March 30. Denver will begin a five-game road trip next Saturday when the Pioneers head right back to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels. The March 2 faceoff is set for 9 a.m. MT.
THE TIERNEY FILE
• Head coach
Bill Tierney is in his 10th season with the Pioneers, holding a 123-37 record at DU and a 395-130 career record in his 35th season.
• Tierney became the first coach to win National Championships with two different programs in 2015, and has an NCAA-best seven men's lacrosse national titles to his name (six at Princeton).
• Tierney is also the first coach to win 100 of his first 140 games in charge at two different programs.
• Tierney became the third DI coach to record 350 wins in 2015 at Villanova, and is second in wins (395 - RIT/Princeton/Denver 1982-pres.) by a Division I head coach, behind John Danowski (402 - LIU Post/Hofstra/Duke - 1983-pres.).
DOUBLE-DIGIT GOALS
• The Pioneers have scored double-digit goals 126 times since the arrival of 10th year head coach
Bill Tierney.
• DU is 113-13 when scoring double-digit goals since the start of the 2010 season.
• Denver has scored double-digit goals 145 times since
Matt Brown joined the staff full time in 2008. Since 2008, Denver is 128-17.
TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY • Denver is 88-6 under head coach
Bill Tierney when its defense allows fewer than 10 goals in a game, including a loss in the 2017 National Semifinals.
• The loss when allowing nine goals to Maryland in the National Semis was Denver's first since the arrival of defensive coordinator
John Orsen. Denver is now 40-2 when holding its opponents under 10 goals under Orsen (vs. GTOWN - BE Final).
• The Pioneers held opponents to under 10 goals in six-straight games from March 21-April 18, 2015 for the first time since the Pioneers held opponents under 10 goals in nine-straight games from March 29-May 18, 2014.
• Denver kept its first shutout since 1971 (Commerce City) on 02/26/17 vs. Canisius.
• DU turned in the second-best defensive output under Tierney (both in 2017) on April 22, 2017, holding [20/20] Providence to two scores.
• Denver's four goals allowed against Notre Dame in the 2017 NCAA Quarters was the best defensive performance by Denver in its NCAA Tournament history.
• Denver held Air Force without a goal in the first and fourth quarters in the 2019 season opener on Feb. 9, holding them scoreless for a stretch of 21:24 in the middle of the contest.
• The Pioneers defense held Air Force to just 14 shots on goal in the season opener , allowing just four goals on those 14 shots.
• The Pioneers return two goalies who started games a year ago, a close defense trio that started all 17 games together last year and starting short stick defensive midfielder and junior captain
Danny Logan to the 2019 roster, while adding Honorable Mention All-American
Matt Neufeldt to a defense that finished third in the country at 7.88 goals allowed per game last season.
• Neufeldt played against Denver in a Terp uniform in both the 2015 National Championship (4GBs/3CTs) and the 2017 NCAA Semifinal (6GBs/0CTs).
• In the 10-9 loss at No. 8 Duke on February 16, Denver held the Blue Devils to just 20 total shots, its lowest output since the 2017 NCAA Quarterfinal.
HAT TRICK TRIOS
• Denver has had three players record hat tricks in the same game 19 times since the start of the 2014 season (18: at Villanova 17: vs. Notre Dame, Air Force, Georgetown, at Marquette, Air Force; 16: at North Carolina, St. John's, vs. Providence; 15: vs. Duke, Georgetown, Providence, at Villanova, vs.Georgetown).
DEEP MIDFIELD
• Denver's top two point getters are both underclassmen in
Ellis Geis (5G-1A-6P) and sophomore
Jack Hannah (2G-4A). Sophomore
Ted Sullivan, who started in Denver's midfield in the second half of the year in his freshman campaign is tied for third with four points (3G-1A).
A FRESH LOOK AT THE FACEOFF DOT • Year one after the sixth four-time first team All-American in the history of the sport began on February 9 against Air Force, a game that saw freshman
Brett Boos go 15-for-19 from the dot and pick up four ground balls in his collegiate debut against an Air Force FOGO that split with
Trevor Baptiste 50-50 in the heavy snow storm in Colorado Springs a year ago.
• In a much higher scoring game, Baptiste went 25-of-34 with 14 ground balls in his collegiate debut against Duke in Georgia.
• Boos went 12-for-23 in a 10-9 loss at No. 8 Duke on February 16.
RECENT NCAA TOURNAMENT SUCCESS
• Denver is one of five programs to qualify for the NCAA Tournament every year since 2010 (Duke, Maryland, Notre Dame, Syracuse). DU won its first NCAA Championship in 2015.
• The Pioneers have reached Championship Weekend in five of the last eight years.
• Denver has reached the NCAA Quarterfinals seven times in the last eight seasons.
• The Pioneers are one of four programs to reach the NCAA Quarterfinals seven times in the last eight seasons (Maryland, Duke and Notre Dame).
A GAME OF RUNS
• Denver has had 18 10-1 runs or better in games under head coach
Bill Tierney, including in Denver's consecutive wins against Villanova and St. John's in 2018.
DENVER ATHLETICS SUCCESS • Denver Athletics has claimed the I-AAA Directors' Cup in 10 of the last 11 seasons, for the top finish in the Directors' Cup standings amongst schools without football.
• The Pioneers have claimed 33 National Championships in their history (Skiing 24, Hockey 8, Men's Lacrosse 1).
• Men's lacrosse's Championship Weekend berth in 2017 is one of the athletic department's 21 DI National Semifinal appearances, including eight since 2011.
• Denver's 35th place overall Directors' Cup finish in 2016-17 is the department's best in its history. DU's men's programs finished fifth in the Capital One Cup for the second time in three years in 2016-17.
• The Pioneers are one of five athletic program across the country to win at least one National Championship in each of the last five years (Skiing 2013-14, 2015-16, 2017- 18 | Men's Lacrosse 2014-15 | Hockey 2016-17). Stanford, Florida, Penn State and Oklahoma are the other four programs on the list.
BONUS LACROSSE
• Denver is 10-6 in overtime under head coach
Bill Tierney, winning the last six and nine of its last 10.
•
Colin Rutan scored the game-winner for the Pioneers in their only overtime game of the 2018 season, an 11-10 victory over Towson on March 24.
• Denver did not play an overtime game in 2017, and prior to the Towson win had played its last four overtime games against ACC schools, including three against Notre Dame (All Wins).
SIXTH SEASON IN THE BIG EAST
• Denver wrapped-up its fifth-consecutive outright BIG EAST regular season title with a 7-4 win over Marquette on April 28, 2018. The Crimson and Gold are now 26-0 all time in BIG EAST regular season play.
• The Pioneers had their 21-game winning streak against conference foes snapped on May 7, 2016 in the BIG EAST Final against Marquette.
DEFENDING THE LACROSSE CAPITAL OF THE WEST
• The Pioneers are 95-17 since Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium was built in 2005.
• Denver is 64-8 under head coach
Bill Tierney at Peter Barton.
• DU had its 22-game home winning streak snapped on May 7, 2016 against Marquette in the BIG EAST Championship, which at the time was the longest active in the country and finished as the 10th longest home winning streak in NCAA history.
• The Pioneers have recorded 47 sellouts in the history of Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, including five in 2014, 2015 and 2018, eight in 2016 and 10 in 2017.
• DU has sold out 28 of its last 29 games.
• Denver is 38-6 under Tierney in sellouts at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
• Denver has had 10 different players score goals in 11 of Denver's wins since the start of the 2015 season, including three-straight games from Feb. 20-28, 2016. (chart to left). Denver had nine different players score in its 15-6 win over Ohio St and in its 14-11 win over Marquette in 2016, in the 2016 BIG EAST Semifinals vs. Providence, in its win over Villanova on April 9, 2017, at St. John's on April 15, 2017, at Villanova on April 6, 2018 and vs. St. John's on April 16, 2018.
• Since OC and associate head coach
Matt Brown was named a full time assistant in 2008, the Pioneers have had 10 or more players score goals in a game 17 times.
• The Pioneers have had five different players score at least two goals 14 times since the start of the 2014 season, including in Denver's 12-7 win over Ohio State and its 13-6 win at Providence in 2018. (2018: 2 | 2017: 5 | 2016: 1 | 2015: 4 | 2014: 2).
SUMMER BOX LACROSSE EXPERIENCE
• Denver had 12 players play in the Inaugural season of the Colorado Collegiate Box Lacrosse League in the Summer of 2017 in Denver, Colo.
• The CCBLL is now one of two leagues that is a part of the newly founded National Collegiate Box Series, with expansion leagues set to take off this summer in Ohio (Columbus/Cleveland).
•
Colton McCaffrey and
Thomas Tenney lifted the Morrow Cup as the Pioneers' two members of the 2017 Champion Big Horns. The DU duo combined for 46 goals in the league's first season.
• In 2018, 18 players played summer box lacrosse:
Alec Barnes,
Colin Rutan and
Charlie Winsor played for the Big Horns,
David Funes and
Zach Hutchko played for the Gold Miners,
Jeremy Bosher,
Jackson Harvey and
Jon Ober played for the Stoneflies,
Schuyler Blair,
Austin French,
Danny Logan and
Nate Williams played for the Blizzard,
Aaron Boyd and
Quinn McKone played for the RedHawks and
Trevor Baptiste,
Connor Donahue and
Nate Marano played for the Champion Fighting Bison.
•
Jack Hannah was the Pioneers lone representative in the Inaugural year of the Ohio Collegiate Box Lacrosse League.
