PREVIEW: [8/6] Denver Heads to [RV/RV] Utah Saturday 2/17/24
DENVER – The [8/6] University of Denver men’s lacrosse program will hit the road for the second time in the opening month of the season, this time heading to Salt Lake City to take on [RV/RV] Utah. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m. MT on Saturday afternoon.
SERIES HISTORY:
Denver is 4-0 all-time against Utah with all four meetings coming since 2019. The Pioneers won 12-4 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium a year ago. Denver’s last trip to Salt Lake City saw the Pios come away with a 14-13 victory. LAST TIME OUT:
Mic Kelly (3-2) and Noah Manning (3-0) had hat tricks and Malcolm Kleban made a career-high 14 saves to put the Pios past Air Force on a snowy Saturday inside Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. FULL RECAP
WILLIAM G. TIERNEY HEAD MEN’S LACROSSE COACH MATT BROWN:
- On April 19, 2023 long-time associate head coach Matt Brown was named the next William G. Tierney Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach, following Tierney’s retirement announcement to take effect after the 2023 season.
- In his 14 seasons under coach Tierney, Brown served as the offensive coordinator. Under his guidance, the Pioneers’ offense was consistently ranked within the top -10 in scoring offense, ranking as high as No. 3. Brown helped the Pioneers to make it to the NCAA Tournament 11 times.
- Brown first joined the staff as a volunteer assistant under Jamie Munro in 2007. When Tierney replaced Munro in the summer of 2009, Tierney and his son Trevor hired Matt Brown as the offensive coordinator.
- Brown played for the Pioneers from 2002-05, becoming the first in the DI a to reach 100 career goals.
SILLSTROP CHASING 100 GOALS
- Graduate student JJ Sillstrop is 5 goals away from becoming the ninth Pioneer in the program’s Division I history to find the back of the net 100 times in his career.
- The last Pioneer to reach the milestone was Jack Hannah (2018-22), who reached 100 career goals in 55 games, the sixth fastest to 100.
- William G. Tierney Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Matt Brown was the first in the program’s Division I history to reach 100 career goals, doing so in 50 games, good for fifth fastest.
2024 CAPTAINS
- William G. Tierney Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Matt Brown named seven captains for the 2024 season.
- Four returning captains are back in leadership positions in Adam Hangland, Jack DiBenedetto, Alec Stathakis and Jake Edinger.
- The quartet are joined by JJ Sillstrop, Jack Tortolani and Michael Lampert to round out Brown’s first captains.
ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY
- The 2024 Denver Pioneers have players from 20 different states.
- Since turning Division I ahead of the 1999 season, the Pioneers have had players from 35 different states.
- The 35 states are: Alabama (1), Arizona (3), California (27), Colorado (100), Connecticut (32), Delaware (1), Florida (5), Georgia (6), Idaho (2), Illinois (10), Indiana (2), Iowa (1), Kansas (1), Kentucky (2), Maine (2), Maryland (24), Massachusetts (10), Michigan (8), Minnesota (9), Missouri (6), Nevada (3), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (26), New York (21), North Carolina (3), Ohio (22), Oregon (4), Penn (11), Rhode Island (3), Tennessee (3), Texas (10), Utah (1), Vermont (1), Virginia (4), Washington (10).
- Last season’s roster added three states to that list this season in Iowa (Provenza), Kansas (Eldred) and Utah (Caldwell).
- The Pios have had 20+ from seven states: Colorado (100), Connecticut (32), California(27), New Jersey(26), Maryland(24), Ohio (22), New York (21).
- Denver’s DI student-athletes also cover three provinces of Canada: Alberta (2), B.C. (15) and Ontario (16).
UP NEXT:
Denver will open a three-game homestand at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium next Saturday when the Pioneers welcome nationally-ranked Cornell to the Mile High City. Opening faceoff is set for 12 p.m. MT.
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