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University of Denver Athletics

Colin Squires

Men's Lacrosse Niko Blankenship

[12/14] Denver Heads to Marquette for Friday Night Clash on FS1

With a win, the Pioneers would clinch at least a share of their sixth-straight BIG EAST regular season title

THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE                                           
•    Denver became the first team to qualify for the 2019 BIG EAST Tournament (May 2-4 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium) after a 14-8 victory over Providence on Saturday at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Ethan Walker had four goals and a helper, while sophomore Jack Hannah netted three to go with an assist. Freshman Brett Boos finished 15-of-23 from the dot, picking up six ground balls. 
• Two programs that entered the year combining for nine of the last 10 BIG EAST trophies in the last five seasons will meet on Friday night under the lights at Valley Fields as Denver travels to Marquette. The game will be broadcast live on FS1 and ESPN Denver 1600 (8 p.m. CT/7 p.m. MT). With a win, Denver will take home at least a share of its sixth-straight BIG EAST Regular Season title. 
• Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium will play host to the 2019 BIG EAST Men's Lacrosse Championships, Presented by Jeep May 2 and 4. The entire tournament will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. 

THE TIERNEY FILE                                                         
•    Head coach Bill Tierney is in his 10th season with the Pioneers, holding a 130-40 record at DU and a 402-133 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 second coach to reach 400 career wins when the Pioneers defeated Georgetown 16-9 on March 30. The Denver bench boss reached the milestone 62 games faster than longtime friend and competitor John Danowski (410 - LIU Post/Hofstra/Duke - 1983-pres.).

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 29-1 all time in BIG EAST regular season play. Denver suffered its first loss since joining the league on April 6, 2019 against Villanova at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium to snap the 27-game regular season winning streak in the BIG EAST. 
•    The Pioneers had their 21-game winning streak against conference foes snapped on May 7, 2016 in the BIG EAST Final against Marquette (incl. conf. tournament). 

DOUBLE-DIGIT GOALS                                 
•    The Pioneers have scored double-digit goals 134 times since the arrival of 10th year head coach Bill Tierney.
•    DU is 119-15 when scoring double-digit goals since the start of the 2010 season.
•    Denver has scored double-digit goals 153 times since Matt Brown joined the staff full time in 2008. Since 2008, Denver is 134-19.

TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY                            
• Denver is 93-6 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 44-2 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. 
• 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). 
• 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.
• 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. 
• Denver's 16 caused turnovers against Cleveland State (2/24) T-4 in DU's DI history. 
• The Pioneers held North Carolina to 10, and just one in the fourth quarter in their come-from-behind win over No. 15 North Carolina, a Heels team that entered the game averaging 15 goals per game, ranking in the top-10 in the country.

MIDFIELD SCORING                                       
•    71 of Denver's 146 goals this season have come from either the offensive midfield,  Danny Logan (5), Matt Neufeldt (2), Jon Ober (1), Kyle Smith (1) or Dylan Johnson (1). Colton Jackson and Ted Sullivan leads the midfield with 15, Jack Hannah has 12. 
•    Senior Quinn McKone scored three times in the first 42 games of his career, but has five goals in his last three games, including his first career multi-goal game at St. John's on April 13 (Scored three times). 

UNFRIENDLY PIPES                                       
•    Denver has hit a post or crossbar 30 times this season, compared to its opponents eight.
•    Jack Hannah and Colton Jackson have each hit the pipe five times, including three times from Jackson on Senior Day (April 20 vs. Providence). 

ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY                                                                    
• The 2019 Denver Pioneers have players from 16 different states across the country. 
• Since turning Division I ahead of the 1999 season, the Pioneers have had players from 32 different states. 
• The 32 states are: Alabama (1), Arizona (3), California (23), Colorado (86), Connecticut (31), Delaware (1), Florida (3), Georgia (1), Idaho (1), Illinois (9), Indiana (2), Kentucky (2), Maine (2), Maryland (18), Massachusetts (7), Michigan (7), Minnesota (5), Missouri (5), Nevada (2), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (22), New York (11), North Carolina (3), Ohio (18), Oregon (3), Penn (10), Rhode Island (3), Tennessee (1), Texas (10), Vermont (1), Virginia (4), Washington (8).

UNDERCLASSMEN CONTRIBUTIONS                                            
•    Four of Denver's top seven point getters are underclassmen in Jack Hannah (12-15-27), Ellis Geis (17-8-25), Ted Sullivan (15-6-21) and Alex Simmons (9-3-12). 
•    Sophomore Jack Hannah netted the first hat trick of his career on a four-point afternoon against Providence on April 20. 

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. 
•    Boos went 20-for-23 and turned in his first double digit ground ball performance (10) vs. Utah on February 23. Boos also won 20 of 31 faceoff attempts in the Pioneers loss at Princeton on March 26. 
•    Boos went 20-31 at Princeton on March 26, including 13-15 in the second half.
•    Boos distributed his first career assists (2) in the Pioneers BIG EAST opening win against Georgetown on March 30. 
•    Boos went 23-31 with 8 GBs at St. John's on April 13, good for the sixth-most single-game faceoff wins in Denver's DI history. 
•    Boos is 9-3 in faceoff match-ups this season (Cleveland State, UNC and Towson).

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).

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 22 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.

DEFENDING THE LACROSSE CAPITAL OF THE WEST                               
•    The Pioneers are 99-18 since Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium was built in 2005.
•    Denver is 68-9 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 50 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 31 of its last 34 games. 
•    Denver is 40-7 under Tierney in sellouts at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

BLOCKED SHOTS                                           
•    Denver's defense has blocked 25 shots this year compared to its opponents 34. 
•    The Pioneers had a season-high seven blocked shots in a 12-10 win at North Carolina. 

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).

MLL DRAFT RECAP                                           
• Denver had an MLL Draft high four players drafted in the 2019 Collegiate Draft. Dylan Gaines was taken 14th overall (Atlanta), followed by Matt Neufeldt at 23 (Charlotte), Colton Jackson at 26 (Atlanta) and Austin French at 43 (Chesapeake). 

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. 

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 15 times since the start of the 2014 season, including in Denver's win over Georgetown on March 30. (2019: 1 | 2018: 2 | 2017: 5 | 2016: 1 | 2015: 4 | 2014: 2).

HAT TRICK TRIOS                                 
•    Denver has had three players record hat tricks in the same game 21 times since the start of the 2014 season (19: Utah, Georgetown, 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). 

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.
Michael Cox, Alec Barnes, Zach Runberg and Mikey Pryor played for the Stoneflies, Connor Donahue, Trevor Baptiste, Nate Marano and Dylan Johnson played for the Fighting Bison and Nick Phillips and Colton Jackson played for the Gold Miners in 2017.
• In 2018, 18 players played summer box lacrosse.
Jack Hannah was the Pioneers lone representative in the Inaugural year of the Ohio Collegiate Box Lacrosse League. 
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Players Mentioned

Trevor Baptiste

#9 Trevor Baptiste

Faceoff
5' 10"
Senior
Connor Donahue

#24 Connor Donahue

Midfield
5' 8"
Senior
Nate Marano

#31 Nate Marano

Midfield
6' 2"
Junior
Colton McCaffrey

#8 Colton McCaffrey

Attack
6' 0"
Senior
Nick Phillips

#7 Nick Phillips

Midfield
6' 0"
Senior
Zach Runberg

#25 Zach Runberg

Midfield
6' 1"
Senior
Thomas Tenney

#23 Thomas Tenney

Attack
6' 0"
Freshman
Alec Barnes

#5 Alec Barnes

Midfield
5' 11"
Junior
Michael Cox

#52 Michael Cox

Midfield
5' 9"
Senior
Austin French

#4 Austin French

Attack
5' 9"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Trevor Baptiste

#9 Trevor Baptiste

5' 10"
Senior
Faceoff
Connor Donahue

#24 Connor Donahue

5' 8"
Senior
Midfield
Nate Marano

#31 Nate Marano

6' 2"
Junior
Midfield
Colton McCaffrey

#8 Colton McCaffrey

6' 0"
Senior
Attack
Nick Phillips

#7 Nick Phillips

6' 0"
Senior
Midfield
Zach Runberg

#25 Zach Runberg

6' 1"
Senior
Midfield
Thomas Tenney

#23 Thomas Tenney

6' 0"
Freshman
Attack
Alec Barnes

#5 Alec Barnes

5' 11"
Junior
Midfield
Michael Cox

#52 Michael Cox

5' 9"
Senior
Midfield
Austin French

#4 Austin French

5' 9"
Senior
Attack