With a new coach, a new conference and 13 freshmen on the roster, the University of Denver men's lacrosse team turns over a new page in its history book as it begins the 2010 season.  Joined by legendary head coach Bill Tierney, who took over the reigns of the program in July 2009 after 22 seasons at Princeton, Denver will look to establish itself as a top-tier institution in Division I lacrosse and improve upon their 7-8 record from a season ago.

NEW REGIME

There's no shortage of accolades on Tierney's  resume, which includes six NCAA Championships, eight NCAA Championship Final appearances, 10 NCAA Final Four appearances, 16 Quarterfinal appearances (including one in 2009) and 14 Ivy League Championships.  He has also coached six first-team All-Americans, 73 first-team All-Ivy League selections, seven Ivy League Players of the Year, six Ivy League Rookies of the Year, over 20 USILA Scholar All-Americans, and two winners of the Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award as the national player of the year.  He was also named Lacrosse Magazine's 2009 Person of the Year.

NEW CONFERENCE

In addition to changes in coaching, Denver joins the Eastern College Athletic Conference in 2010 after departing the Great Western Lacrosse League. The Pioneers were picked second behind Loyola University in the ECAC preseason poll, as voted on by the league's eight head coaches.  Loyola enters the season with a No. 16 preseason ranking as selected by the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, while Denver is ranked No. 18.  Three Pioneers were selected to the All-ECAC Preseason team, including senior captain Dillon Roy (Denver, Colo.), senior Charley Dickenson (Dallas, Texas), and sophomore Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ontario). Roy was also named ECAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman Chase Carraro (Louisville, Ky.) was selected as the Preseason Rookie of the Year.

THE ROSTER

Tierney believes that this year's roster has no shortage of talent, and expects big things from the senior class.  Roy assumes captainship of the Pioneers after being selected to the All-GWLL First Team last season.  A transfer from Cornell, Nick Gradinger (Del Mar, Calif.) joins Roy on defense, while Tierney expects the third defensive spot to be shared by a number of players.

"Dillon and Nick have a lot of experience," Tierney said. "They're both older guys and good leaders, so I feel very comfortable with them on defense."

Coach Tierney also expects big things from senior Deke Jackson (Boise, Idaho) and juniors Alex Drexler (New Canaan, Conn.), Emerson Eichler (New Vernon, N.J.), Andrew Lay (Denver, Colo.) and Jamie MacDonald (Providence, R.I.) in the Denver midfield this season.

"One of our strongest positions this year is our defensive midfield," Tierney said. "They're as strong a group as I've ever had, and I feel very confident in their ability."

Also joining the Pioneer midfielders is Carraro, a talented newcomer who Tierney expects to be the face-off man for Denver this year.

The Pioneer attack will be led by sophomores Alex Demopoulos (Canton, Conn.) and Matthews.  Matthews led the team last season with 24 goals while also posting nine assists, while Demopoulos found the back of the net eight times and tallied three assists.

"They're a fantastic pair," Tierney said of the sophomore attackers. "If we can keep them healthy, they're going to score a lot of goals this season."

Senior Peter Lowell (Freeport, Maine) returns to mind the net after starting 12 games in goal for Denver last season.

THE SCHEDULE

The 2010 schedule holds a great deal of challenges for Denver, highlighted by their first match of the year on the road against two-time defending national champion Syracuse.  Denver also will play host to five different conference rivals this season, and will visit No. 9 preseason ranked Notre Dame on March 16th.

"Our goals this year are to win the ECAC and get as far as possible in the NCAA Tournament," Tierney said. "These are lofty goals for a new coaching staff in a transition year, but we have the talent and we owe it to our seniors."

Denver begins the regular season at Syracuse on February 19th.  The first home game is against Albany on February 27th at Peter Barton lacrosse stadium.