Denver Defense Aces Test Thanks to 'The Professor'

Denver coach Matt Brown likes to call Pioneers defensive coordinator John Gallant “The Professor” — an apt moniker for a man who before moving to the college ranks taught the game and science at Rock Canyon High School in nearby Littleton, Colo.

Gallant’s students certainly aced their midterm last weekend.

The Pioneers have been a bit of a yo-yo this season, no huge surprise for a team that graduated so many entrenched players from an NCAA semifinalist. But Saturday’s 13-6 rout of Duke in Dallas was a significant step forward as Denver (5-4) closed out non-conference play.

“The group’s just learning,” Brown said. “They’re learning how to play together. They’re learning what not to do. They’re learning their boundaries and limitations. At least last week, I thought we took a better step to figuring out and getting close to what our true identity can be with this group. I don’t think we’re quite there yet, but what’s there is a ton of fight. These guys, they can compete at an ultra-high level and they showed that last Saturday.”

It was actually a 10-goal game until Duke (8-2) collected three goals in the final three minutes, and it was probably the best defensive performance of the season for Denver. It doesn’t hurt to have a few veterans left — notably defenseman Jimmy Freehill and ace short stick Casey Wilson — but there’s still a lot of untested players logging major minutes.

It helps explain why Denver split its first four games. It beat Air Force, Utah, Marist and Quinnipiac, with all but one game decided by at least six goals. It also lost to Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Yale and Ohio State, surrendering 13 goals to Hopkins and 15 each to the other three teams.

But dig into the box scores, and there was a clear trend. Cornell ripped off seven consecutive goals in the first half. Yale collected the game’s first six goals. Ohio State rattled off five in a row to close out the first half. Even Hopkins had a three-goal spurt in less than two minutes to create some separation in what was a tie game in the third quarter.

“The biggest thing this year has been those runs,” Brown said. “In our four losses, you can peg moments in each one of those games where we let a 3-5 goal run occur and that determined the game.”

That wasn’t a problem as Denver held the Blue Devils scoreless for more than 42 minutes. The Pioneers don’t have a dominant faceoff man — a program rarity — but Brown was pleased with the effort his players forced Duke to exert even as the Blue Devils claimed 16 of 22 draws.

And Denver’s offense had a solid day, with Noah Manning (moved down from midfield to attack this season) posting six goals and two assists and steady midfielder Mic Kelly turning in a three-goal, one-assist effort.

It’s an encouraging sign for a coach who has preached the importance of learning, improvement and focusing internally throughout non-conference play. The Big East schedule begins Saturday against Villanova, and the next six weekends will ultimately determine whether the Pioneers make it 2-for-2 in reaching the NCAA tournament under Brown.

“I think we’ve had to remind ourselves as coaches that we don’t have the veteran team that we did last year,” Brown said. “In some cases, we kind of had to go back to basics and just really break down the parts of the game and we’re going to have to continue to do that through this next season of conference play because we just have to continue to get better. We’re not where we need to be quite yet, but it’s been fun.”

New-look Knights enjoy a big day

The group Brian Brecht rolled out Saturday in Rutgers’ Big Ten opener against Johns Hopkins looked a lot different than when the Scarlet Knights visited Homewood Field two years ago. Or when the Blue Jays visited Piscataway last spring.

The numbers don’t lie. Of the 24 players Rutgers used Saturday, only six played in at least half of the team’s games last season. Just three — defenseman Tommy Mendyke, long pole Ryan Splaine and short-stick defensive midfielder Andrew Macheca — had even regular niche roles in 2023.

And so a lot is new for the Scarlet Knights, which means outcomes like the 11-8 victory over Hopkins can be foundational for the latest iteration of Brecht’s program.

“We talked about how no one has more than one year of experience? Well, that was a better win than we had all of last year,” Brecht said. “At the end of the day, that’s a nice stepping stone and progress and a great experience to take as we go into Big Ten play.”

That Rutgers (5-5, 1-0) is fairly young is no secret. The Scarlet Knights used six sophomores and five freshmen against Hopkins, but it’s not as if this hasn’t been the story all season. And it’s been especially true at the offensive end, where sophomore Colin Kurdyla (14 goals, seven assists this season) qualifies as an elder statesman.

That’s the consequence of graduating some long-term mainstays (Shane Knobloch and Ross Scott) while also leaning on graduate transfers to help fill in some gaps over the last four years. It worked well when Rutgers went to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2021 and earned its first semifinal berth the following year. The last two seasons were less successful as the Scarlet Knights slipped to 8-6 and then 7-7.

There have been some lean days so far this season. Yet things unquestionably went well Saturday. Haydn Sommer had three goals and an assist to earn the Big Ten’s rookie of the week nod. Colin Zeller, like Sommer a redshirt freshman, scored twice. Freshman JJ Aiello had a goal and an assist.

Rutgers has also found a time-tested formula to stay in games. Matthew Paolatto, a grad transfer from Division III Union, is winning 61.9 percent of his faceoffs. Goalie Cardin Stoller, in his second year as a starter, made 10 saves against the Blue Jays and is 60.1 percent for the season.

“At the end of the day, no one likes to use the word ‘rebuilding,’” Brecht said. “That’s the nature of graduating all of your fifth years, graduating the grad transfers that are one-and-done for a master’s. We are in a position where we are resetting with our current guys on the team.”

It’s why Brecht planned the fall and the preseason the way he did. Rutgers had three competitions in October — an exhibition against a Japanese school, an alumni game and a scrimmage with Brown and Bryant. There was also a January trip to Florida to scrimmage Tampa and Jacksonville, an opportunity to go on the road and spend time as a team as much as anything.

Quietly, Rutgers has established a stout defense anchored by Stoller. The Scarlet Knights have yet to allow more than 11 goals in a game, and only once has an opponent shot better than 30 percent. Foes are shooting just 23.2 percent for the season.

Now, the offense is starting to progress, having produced its two best shooting days in its last three outings.

“We just have to keep getting better each week, and I think we have,” Brecht said. “By and large, we have. It might not have shown up on wins and losses, but all the experiences and all the different things we’ve seen and gotten a first look at it that you can’t really simulate in practice and drills [have helped]. I do think they have gotten better and learned.”

NUMBERS OF NOTE

1 • Undefeated team remaining in Division I. Fairfield (9-0) earned its third one-goal victory of the season on Saturday with its 12-11 defeat of Drexel.

3 • Winless teams remaining in Division I. Hampton (0-10), Loyola (0-8) and Wagner (0-9) are all seeking their first victories of the season entering the final weekend of March.

9 • Consecutive victories for Ohio State, the Buckeyes’ longest winning streak since going 9-0 to start 2017 — the year they reached the national title game. Ohio State will aim for its first 10-game winning streak since taking 11 in a row in 2004.

11 • Points for Syracuse junior Joey Spallina in Saturday’s 16-12 defeat of Colgate, the most for any Orange player in 28 years. Spallina had five goals and six assists for the 11th 11-point outing in program history, a feat last accomplished when Casey Powell had  a school-record 13 points (seven goals, six assists) against Virginia on Feb. 28, 1997.