NCAA Rewind: Denver Again the Class of the Big East

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2025 — look out for our NCAA Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings later this summer — our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking a last look at the 2024 college lacrosse season.

To do that, we’re taking a journey through 30 of the top teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse to see what went right, what went wrong and how we should feel about the season.

DENVER

USA Lacrosse preseason/final ranking: No. 4/No. 13
2024 record: 16-4 (5-0 Big East)

What went right: Denver largely did exactly what it did during a breakout 2023 — win games behind an exceptional defense. That stingy zone was statistically lesser than the 2023 version, though that should not have shocked many that watched the historically great unit lead Denver to the NCAA semifinals.

Instead, behind the returns of Sam Thacker and Trinity McPherson, Denver ranked 15th nationally by allowing 9.20 goals per game. McPherson led the team in ground balls (41) and caused turnovers (38) while Thacker missed a few games. McPherson chipped in 85 draw controls (second on the team), using her speed as a weapon on the circle.

Olivia Penoyer (26G, 56A) and Julia Gilbert (62G, 12A) were a dynamic 1-2 tandem on offense and received support from three other 30-goal scorers and a couple other 24-plus-goal scorers.

What went wrong: To imply something went wrong would be to say that Denver experienced letdowns ... and that really isn't the case. All four losses were against teams in and around the top 10 — and even top five — for most of the spring. 

The offense stalled in an 8-4 loss to Michigan on Feb. 17, then Maryland got the best of the Pios 10-8 on March 2. Northwestern, which ended Denver's 2023 season, then beat the Pios 14-10 on March 8 before beating them again 17-4 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Denver struggled on the draw, ranking 55th nationally with 13.60 draws won per game. In terms of draw percentage, the Pios ranked 39th at 53.1 percent.

Season highlight: Denver ripped off 13 consecutive wins after that March 8 loss to Northwestern, a streak that included wins over marquee teams like Stony Brook, Stanford (twice) and Yale. It also included two wins over Big East foe UConn, which Denver beat 16-14 to capture another conference title.

Verdict: Denver couldn't replicate its 2023 magic, but 16 wins and another trip to the NCAA tournament are nothing to shake a stick at. Ultimately, Denver just couldn't solve the buzzsaw that was Northwestern — but very few teams could.