PHILADELPHIA — As Denver Coach Bill Tierney slowly made his way toward his jubilant players, somebody handed him a pair of scissors, then a snipped piece of net and then the national championship trophy, which he held in his arms, reluctantly, for about five seconds.
This was Tierney’s seventh go-round atop lacrosse’s coveted pedestal, and he was focused on his players, who were soaking in their first. As Tierney embraced the sophomore defenseman Christian Burgdorf, Tierney asked him how it felt.
“The best,” Burgdorf said. “The best.”
With an authoritative 10-5 win over Maryland at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday, Tierney and the Pioneers created a transformative moment for a sport that has been gaining westward momentum for years: Never in the 44-year history of the N.