After the University of Denver lost to eventual champion Duke last season in an NCAA Division I mens' lacrosse semifinal, Pioneers head coach Bill Tierney said his team had been in this position before, vowed to return and told people they better get used to it.
He sounded like a cocky coach on the border of arrogance, but that's not Tierney's style. He is a humble man who was setting the tone for 2015 and years to come.
"I didn't want anyone to think that this was some kind of fluke," said Tierney, in his sixth season at Denver. "I thought we had become a program, that our recruiting was in place and that we had some talented players coming back. Unless Armageddon happened, we were going to be contenders again."
They're back.
It's early and No. 1 Denver is 3-1 after losing to No. 4 North Carolina Friday, but the Pioneers are still the team to beat.
They have Tierney, who has won six national championships. They also have coordinator Matt Brown, one of the game's hottest assistants, a good new faceoff specialist in Trevor Baptiste and a solid goalie in Ryan LaPlante.
"Sometimes when you lose like we did last year to Duke, you just need to take a little time off and remind your players that you did lose to the best team in the country," Tierney said. "But skill-wise, I knew we had a better team coming back."
That's what sticks out about Denver. Brown has been able to combine the two offensive styles of Canadian box and American field lacrosse, and the attackmen and midfielders seem interchangeable.
"The key is ball movement and player movement as well as playing being committed to the system which requires unselfishness," Tierney said.
Maryland transfer Connor Cannizzaro (12 goals, 12 assists) leads the Pioneers in scoring followed by fellow midfielders Erik Adamson (8, 1), Tyler Pace (4, 6) and attackman Zach Miller (3, 9). Attackmen Wesley Berg has nine goals.
"I think this offense for Connor Cannizzaro is tailor-made for him, and I think he's going to absolutely explode throughout the course of the year with his ability to find teammates, break defenders down," said ESPN analyst Paul Carcaterra. "They're running him at the midfield, and he can play on attack. And versatility is the third thing in the Denver offense. That's their strength."
It will be interesting to see what happens with Brown at the end of the season. During his five years with Tierney at Denver, his offenses have always been ranked in the top 10 and the Pioneers have reached championship weekend three of the past four years.
As a native of Burnaby, British Columbia, he has helped Tierney sign top Canadian players.
"When I was at Princeton, I got a lot of credit for building those defenses, but here at Denver Matt has gotten a lot of credit, and rightfully so, for our offensive success," Tierney said. "I realize that a lot of these guys aren't coming here for me, but to play for Matt Brown."
"Our university has a program in place right now to make sure that he becomes the next head coach here," Tierney said. "Does that guarantee he will not leave? I can't say that for certain, but he has had other opportunities to leave and has stayed here. That says something."
Another Pioneer drawing a lot of attention is Baptiste, the freshman faceoff specialist out of Denville, N.J. He had committed to Franklin & Marshall, but became a late gem of a find by a number of Division I schools.
His last visit was to Denver, and that's where he has stayed.
Before Friday, he had won 53 of 73 faceoffs, which allowed the Pioneers to control the pace of the game and force an upbeat tempo.
On the other end, Denver counters with goalie Ryan LaPlante. Last year, he split time with Jamie Faus. According to Tierney, that division didn't hurt the team because both were good players and deserved playing time.
Entering Friday's game, LaPlante had a save percentage of .579 and a goals-against average of 8.21. Denver was averaging 14.33 goals a game.
"I've never been a believer in the one-goalie theory," Tierney said. "The only difference now compared to a year ago is I'm more aware of LaPlante's health and how many shots he faces in a week knowing that he is the lone starter."
The Pioneers are on course again for another strong title run. Tierney doesn't harp on last year, but losing to Duke is a driving force. Even more importantly is the belief that the Pioneers have arrived, and appear ready to stay.
"Back at Princeton when we won six championships in 10 years, that was great and you took time to enjoy those moments," Tierney said. "But shortly afterward, you're back to work again, out there recruiting. You realize that it is basically still the same. You get after it again and try to win another. We're trying to do that here."