Photo: Courtesy of redstormsports.com
DU men’s lacrosse (9-2, 3-0 Big East) traveled to Queens, NY to play the St Johns Red Storm (1-11, 0-3) in an afternoon lacrosse game at DaSilva Memorial Field. The Pioneers used their typical formula to win the contest to win 18-12 with the trio of Trevor Baptiste, Conner Cannizzaro, and Ethan Walker leading the way for the Pioneers.
Cannizzaro turns in six-point day, #BeastBaptiste goes 22-of-29 from the dot in @BIGEAST victory #DU1NATION https://t.co/v1eL1f7MUd
— Denver Men’s Lacrosse (@DU_MLAX) April 15, 2017
As usual, Trevor Baptiste was dominant at the X with 22-29 faceoffs (75.8%) and added 13 groundballs. Senior attackman Conner Cannizzaro had 5 goals and 1 assist to lead the Pioneers. Freshman Ethan Walker chipped in with 5 points, and Austin French had 2 goals and 2 assists as the Pioneers cruised to the win on a blustery afternoon.
The game featured several pioneer streaks. The Pioneers have never been beaten in regular season play since becoming a member of the Big East (19 in a row). Legendary head coach Bill Tierney completed his 500th career game at the helm with 377 wins, trailing only Duke’s John Danowski. Finally, Conner Cannizzaro extended his scoring streak to an incredible 51 games.
Game number 500 for @DUCoachTierney this afternoon. Blast from the past. #DU1NATION pic.twitter.com/RZZh3dzLu5
— Denver Men’s Lacrosse (@DU_MLAX) April 15, 2017
Denver Jumped out to a 5-2 lead the first quarter and the teams matched points in the second quarter – 4 apiece. Denver put the game out of reach in the 3rd quarter with a 5-2 run and the teams matched goals in the final quarter, final 18-12.
Just like last week’s contest against Villanova, turnovers continue to be a concern for Denver with 10 by the Pioneers for the game. Alex Ready gave up 9 goals against seven saves. In the final 5 minutes, Josh Matte played in-goal and saved 3 attempts while allowing 3 goals.
St Johns Freshman Joe Madsen scored 5 points for the Johnnies and senior Nick Heller on collected 4 points on the Johnnies Senior Day.
Road wins are always big and Pioneers seems to be creating more quality offensive opportunities as the season advances. However, Denver needs to keep an eye on turnovers and goalkeeping efficiency as they head down the stretch – especially when holding such an overwhelming advantage at the X.
The Pioneers have only two regular season games remaining against Providence and Marquette over the next two weeks. Then, Denver will go to the 2017 Big East Men’s Lacrosse Championships in Providence.
The Good News: This DU team is finding its offensive rhythm and curing the man-up issues that were so glaring a few weeks ago, at least against inferior opponents. DU has scoring depth and players are executing the system now. There are a lot of good teams this year, but no exceptional ones. DU has enough talent and experience to go deep in the playoffs, if they can fix the problems.
The Bad News: The poor turnovers and inconsistent goaltending problems which have been there all year need to get fixed in the next few weeks. It was also be nice to get some hurt defensemen back into the lineup. If the Pios can’t fix these issues, there will likely be no playoff advancement.
The Good News: This DU team is finding its offensive rhythm and curing the man-up issues that were so glaring a few weeks ago, at least against inferior opponents. DU has scoring depth and players are executing the system now. There are a lot of good teams this year, but no exceptional ones. DU has enough talent and experience to go deep in the playoffs, if they can fix the problems.
The Bad News: The poor turnovers and inconsistent goaltending problems which have been there all year need to get fixed in the next few weeks. It was also be nice to get some hurt defensemen back into the lineup. If the Pios can’t fix these issues, there will likely be no playoff advancement.
Injured players close to returning, but no immediate timetable according to parent of one injured defenseman. Injured calf for one and pulled groin for another. Groins are tricky.
Tierney very unhappy with effort and execution yesterday.
Injured for year defenseman Max Begoon is brother of Harvard ice hockey defenseman Ryan Begoon. Naturally family was in Chicago last weekend.
About 75 DU parents and alums were at game yesterday. Fun tailgate.
Injured players close to returning, but no immediate timetable according to parent of one injured defenseman. Injured calf for one and pulled groin for another. Groins are tricky.
Tierney very unhappy with effort and execution yesterday.
Injured for year defenseman Max Begoon is brother of Harvard ice hockey defenseman Ryan Begoon. Naturally family was in Chicago last weekend.
About 75 DU parents and alums were at game yesterday. Fun tailgate.
Providence coming to DU this weekend undefeated in league play and looking to knock off the Pioneers. DU needs to step up on its own senior day and take care of business, starting with reducing turnovers.
A win over Providence is not a lock. Need a big student turn-out.
With the immense advantage that Baptiste has on faceoffs, winning a game 18-12 is almost like losing. When our guy wins like 25 out of 30 faceoffs and we only win by 6 goals, it sounds like we are being outplayed in all facets of the game except faceoffs. That does not sound like a national title contender to me. We have to do a LOT more with the huge number of possessions that we are getting.
Anon, I agree. Opponents must have a very high goal per possession ratio against us starting in the UNC game. Baptiste will be facing better FOGO’s as the season winds down. Thus to keep winning, the “D” must pick it up big time. Duke and ND had good fogo’s. We need to play like we did in those games to have any chance of contending.
My Teewardon prediction: If DU get’s to the National semi-finals, Baptiste will be the first fogo to win the award.
Providence coming to DU this weekend undefeated in league play and looking to knock off the Pioneers. DU needs to step up on its own senior day and take care of business, starting with reducing turnovers.
A win over Providence is not a lock. Need a big student turn-out.
With the immense advantage that Baptiste has on faceoffs, winning a game 18-12 is almost like losing. When our guy wins like 25 out of 30 faceoffs and we only win by 6 goals, it sounds like we are being outplayed in all facets of the game except faceoffs. That does not sound like a national title contender to me. We have to do a LOT more with the huge number of possessions that we are getting.
Anon, I agree. Opponents must have a very high goal per possession ratio against us starting in the UNC game. Baptiste will be facing better FOGO’s as the season winds down. Thus to keep winning, the “D” must pick it up big time. Duke and ND had good fogo’s. We need to play like we did in those games to have any chance of contending.
My Teewardon prediction: If DU get’s to the National semi-finals, Baptiste will be the first fogo to win the award.