Bill Tierney

When Bill Tierney helmed Princeton to all six of its national championships during his tenure there, the Tigers were renowned for a suffocating defensive scheme that at times strangled opponents into offensive futility. When John Desko replaced Syracuse Hall of Famer Roy Simmons Jr. prior to the 1999 season, the Orange maintained their run-and-gun roots and outsprinted opposing teams en route to five NCAA titles. Tierney left Princeton to take a similar position at Denver for the 2010 campaign, while Desko still heads Syracuse.

WNBA Sloppy Mystics lose home opener to Dream, 73-63 While his players talked of a fresh start throughout training camp, new Washington Mystics general manager and coach Mike Thibault warned that a return to glory would be a long-term goal for the franchise. He wasn't kidding, either. Old habits, it appears, will take a lot longer than one offseason to fix. Bogged down by a litany of turnovers, the host Mystics lost their home opener Sunday to the Atlanta Dream, 73-63, in front of an announced 8,938 at Verizon Center . Forward Crystal Langhorne (Maryland)

NEW YORK -- A starting defensive back for Fordham University died yesterday after collapsing during pre-game warm-ups on the school's athletic field in the Bronx. Bill Tierney, 20, a junior from Lyndhurst, N.J., apparently died of a heart attack, a Fordham spokesman said.Tierney and his teammates had been preparing for a Homecoming game against Lafayette when the player collapsed Jack Coffey Field."He was a great, great kid," said Fordham athletic director Frank McLaughlin. "This is unbelievable.

Denver's announcement Thursday that it will leave the Eastern College Athletic Conference and move to the Big East for immediate membership next season could impact Johns Hopkins' search for a conference that the program can call home. The Big East was one of a few leagues that popped up as a potential landing area for a Blue Jays program that has won nine national championships, but was left out of the NCAA tournament this spring for the first time since 1971. The Big East was an attractive suitor for Johns Hopkins because the conference needed a sixth team to join Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's and Villanova so that it could retain the automatic qualifier it had for the NCAA tournament.

PHILADELPHIA // No one would accuse Bill Tierney of being wishy washy. Despite a scintillating 13-save performance by sophomore goalkeeper Ryan LaPlante in the first half during which he surrendered just two goals, the Denver coach stuck to his season-long plan of rotating goalies and inserted junior Jamie Faus for the remaining 30 minutes of play. Faus did not play nearly as well as his predecessor, finishing with just four saves and giving up seven goals as the fourth-seeded Pioneers failed to hold onto a three-goal advantage in the fourth quarter and lost to top-seeded Syracuse, 9-8, in a NCAA tournament semifinal at Lincoln Financial Field here Saturday evening.

Just two days away from its season opener against No. 6 Duke, No. 10 Denver still isn't sure which goalkeeper to start Saturday. The competition has boiled down to junior Jamie Faus and sophomore Ryan LaPlante, and coach Bill Tierney said he's contemplating giving playing time to both goalies over the next two or three weeks. “Everybody will tell you that you've got to develop your starting quarterback, that you've got to develop your point guard, and in this sport, you can only have one goalie.

Hardly anyone would second-guess Denver coach Bill Tierney if he elected to start Saturday's NCAA tournament semifinal against top-seeded Syracuse with junior goalkeeper Jamie Faus in the cage rather than opening with sophomore Ryan LaPlante as he has done in 17 of the team's 18 contests this season. After all, Faus was one of the primary reasons why the fourth-seeded Pioneers (14-4) are enjoying its second Final Four in the last three years. He made 11 saves and surrendered just five goals in more than 50 minutes of play after replacing LaPlante in the first quarter of an eventual 12-11 decision against fifth-seeded North Carolina last Sunday in the quarterfinal round.

For three weeks in June 2009, Tom Schreiber was in a bit of limbo about his status as Princeton's most prized men's lacrosse recruit. Bill Tierney had just resigned as coach after 22 seasons, and Schreiber, a midfielder, was growing worried. Then the university named Chris Bates from Drexel as Tierney's successor. Bates dispelled Schreiber's anxiety quickly, driving to the family home in East Meadow, N.Y., the day after he was hired to meet with Doug and Liz Schreiber, and then spend a few hours with their son. "I kind of had a unique recruiting experience," Tom Schreiber recalled.

It took two unexpected turn of events for former Gilman lacrosse standout Gordie Koerber to end up playing at the University of Denver, one of four teams left in this year's Division I NCAA men's lacrosse tournament. Until seventh grade, Koerber was the goalie for his lacrosse team before suffering two injuries made him change his mind about the position. After taking two close range shots to his chest just days apart, Koerber's parents, Bryan and Gillian, were fearful of additional injuries, especially as he faced larger, stronger players.

Denver's announcement Thursday that it will leave the Eastern College Athletic Conference and move to the Big East for immediate membership next season could impact Johns Hopkins' search for a conference that the program can call home. The Big East was one of a few leagues that popped up as a potential landing area for a Blue Jays program that has won nine national championships, but was left out of the NCAA tournament this spring for the first time since 1971. The Big East was an attractive suitor for Johns Hopkins because the conference needed a sixth team to join Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's and Villanova so that it could retain the automatic qualifier it had for the NCAA tournament.

PHILADELPHIA // No one would accuse Bill Tierney of being wishy washy. Despite a scintillating 13-save performance by sophomore goalkeeper Ryan LaPlante in the first half during which he surrendered just two goals, the Denver coach stuck to his season-long plan of rotating goalies and inserted junior Jamie Faus for the remaining 30 minutes of play. Faus did not play nearly as well as his predecessor, finishing with just four saves and giving up seven goals as the fourth-seeded Pioneers failed to hold onto a three-goal advantage in the fourth quarter and lost to top-seeded Syracuse, 9-8, in a NCAA tournament semifinal at Lincoln Financial Field here Saturday evening.

The mantra that defense wins championships could be tested this weekend. The four teams left in the NCAA tournament at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia feature some of the top offenses in Division I. Cornell leads the way, ranking second in the country with 14.6 goals per game. Duke is third with 13.8, Denver fifth with 12.7 and Syracuse 13th with 11.7. All four semifinalists rank in the top 10 in points per game and in the top 11 in shooting percentage. ESPN analyst Mark Dixon said he is not surprised that the teams still alive in the postseason have prolific offenses.

When Bill Tierney helmed Princeton to all six of its national championships during his tenure there, the Tigers were renowned for a suffocating defensive scheme that at times strangled opponents into offensive futility. When John Desko replaced Syracuse Hall of Famer Roy Simmons Jr. prior to the 1999 season, the Orange maintained their run-and-gun roots and outsprinted opposing teams en route to five NCAA titles. Tierney left Princeton to take a similar position at Denver for the 2010 campaign, while Desko still heads Syracuse.

Hardly anyone would second-guess Denver coach Bill Tierney if he elected to start Saturday's NCAA tournament semifinal against top-seeded Syracuse with junior goalkeeper Jamie Faus in the cage rather than opening with sophomore Ryan LaPlante as he has done in 17 of the team's 18 contests this season. After all, Faus was one of the primary reasons why the fourth-seeded Pioneers (14-4) are enjoying its second Final Four in the last three years. He made 11 saves and surrendered just five goals in more than 50 minutes of play after replacing LaPlante in the first quarter of an eventual 12-11 decision against fifth-seeded North Carolina last Sunday in the quarterfinal round.

It took two unexpected turn of events for former Gilman lacrosse standout Gordie Koerber to end up playing at the University of Denver, one of four teams left in this year's Division I NCAA men's lacrosse tournament. Until seventh grade, Koerber was the goalie for his lacrosse team before suffering two injuries made him change his mind about the position. After taking two close range shots to his chest just days apart, Koerber's parents, Bryan and Gillian, were fearful of additional injuries, especially as he faced larger, stronger players.

Salisbury transfer Eric Law picked up a rebound on the edge of the crease and scored with 13.4 seconds left to cap a historic comeback and give No. 4 seed Denver a 12-11 win over fifth-seeded North Carolina in the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament quarterfinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon. The game, played before an announced 7,749, was the first men's lacrosse quarterfinal held at a venue not on the East Coast. Denver, the first team in men's quarterfinal history to win after trailing by five goals or more, will face No. 1 seed Syracuse in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Doug Schreiber was a two-time, first-team All-American midfielder at Maryland who led the 1973 squad in assists with 33 en route to the program's national championship. But when it was time for Tom Schreiber to pick a school at which to play lacrosse, he did not seriously consider his father's alma mater. “I kind of narrowed it down to Princeton, Georgetown, Duke and Hopkins,” said Schreiber, a first-team All-American midfielder in 2012 who plays for Princeton. “I never visited Maryland.

No teams feed off controlling faceoffs more than Loyola and Maryland. So when they meet at high noon tomorrow, the team quicker to the draw will most likely survive to advance to the national-championship game.In the Greyhounds' school-record, 12-game winning streak, Jamie Hanford has won 169 of 242 faceoffs (.698). After a lackluster start against Georgetown last week, he took six of seven draws in the fourth quarter."Obviously, we're going to see something we haven't seen in a while in Booger," Maryland coach Dick Edell said, referring to Hanford by his nickname.

Denver coach Bill Tierney jokes that it took only four years for college coaches, including himself, to put Eric Law in the best position to succeed. Law has gone from being a backup at Salisbury as a freshman to - after transferring to the Pioneers - a sophomore midfielder to a junior wing attackman to the quarterback of the offense in 2013. And Law has thrived in his latest role, setting both team and personal bests in assists (31) and points (64). “So finally, after three years of playing - one at Division III, one at midfield and one at not his most comfortable position - in his fourth year of college, he gets to do what he does best, and you've seen the results,” Tierney said with a chuckle.

Midfielder Cameron Flint sprinted 40 yards down the field off a faceoff and scored on a low shot 16 seconds into overtime as No. 1 Denver defeated No. 8 Loyola, 13-12, before an announced 2,478 Saturday at Ridley Field. The goal spoiled a furious comeback by Loyola (9-3, 5-1 ECAC) which trailed 8-3 at the half and had tied the game on a goal from senior midfielder Sean O'Sullivan from 15 yards out with 2:39 left in regulation. After Flint connected in the sudden-death OT, he was swarmed by teammates near the back of the goal as the Pioneers (10-2, 5-0)