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As the ������ lacrosse teams gear up for the 2025 season, both the men’s and women’s squads are shifting their focus to a new wave of talent.

The DU men’s lacrosse team lost a majority of its defense and five offensive players from a 2024 team that made its way to the national semifinals one year ago. Of the four captains Head Coach Matt Brown named for the season, Jack Tortolani is the only returning captain. He’s joined by Jimmy Freehill, Casey Wilson and Joshua Carlson.

The women’s team graduated 11 athletes from the 2024 season—seven of whom were starters that led the team to a Big East title and a berth in the NCAA tournament.��

Both Brown and women’s Head Coach Liza Kelly have embraced the changes that come with a greener and more youthful team.��

“You (as a coach) have to dot every i and cross every t. You have to make sure that you’re going back to the basics,” Brown says. “You can’t just assume that you’re going to be picking up from where you left off last year.”

In his first season at the helm of the program, Brown led the Pioneers to a 13-4 record and the program's first trip to Championship Weekend since 2017. Currently ranked No. 10 in the country, the men’s lacrosse team will open its 2025 season at noon on Saturday at home against No. 8-ranked Johns Hopkins.

Brown says the team’s mantra of the year is Japanese word “kaizen,” which translates to continuous improvement.��

“We always say, ‘Monday through Thursday you earn your opportunity, Saturday you get an opportunity to solidify it. If you do, that's great—we’re looking for guys to solidify (their opportunities). If you don’t, Monday is a couple days later, and you get a chance to do it all over again,” he says.

Wilson, one of the senior captains, sees his leadership role as setting an example ��while also challenging himself to be more vocal for his younger teammates. He described the team so far as “a gritty group of guys who are willing to do what it takes.”

While there may be more “learning on the fly” and coaching in the moment, both Brown and Kelly have welcomed the ways in which their respective teams are operating with gritty, hungry mindsets.��

Kelly says the team has been “really hungry to prove themselves,” calling the energy level thus far “outstanding.”��

“We also did a lot of work last year to be in a spot where (the now seniors) would feel comfortable taking over some tougher leadership jobs,” Kelly says, noting that, for the past couple of years, “We’ve been so old (as a team), we’ve had more on-field generals that were able to take charge."

The No. 16-ranked women’s team opens the season on the road against Louisville on Feb. 7. In addition to the new talent, the team also has a new offensive coordinator in Taylor VanThof—perhaps doing so at just the right time given all the new faces, Kelly says.

Senior captain Lauren Black says the new offense is creative and provides more opportunities for everyone to score, assist or make a play.

“I feel like Taylor has been implementing such a strong and diverse and versatile group, and I think all of us are really excited to get the chance to show everyone what we’ve been working on the past few months.”

While she recognizes the adjustments the team has had to make after so many of their teammates graduated, she says they’re using it as an opportunity.

“I think we've taken a lot of what they taught us in the past and are bringing that into our own game this year.”