CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT: Bill Tierney surveys the action during his tenure as the head coach of the University of Denver men’s lacrosse program. Last Sunday, former Princeton University men’s lacrosse head coach Tierney guided the Philadelphia Waterdogs to a 14-4 win over the Denver Outlaws in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) championship game at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison. Tierney, who led Princeton to six NCAA titles between 1992-2001 and guided Denver to a national crown in 2015, became the first coach to win both an NCAA Division I and professional title in his career. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Bill Tierney has experienced plenty of championship moments, having coached the Princeton University men’s lacrosse program to six NCAA titles between 1992-2001 and guided Denver to a national crown in 2015.

But when Hall of Fame coach Tierney led the Philadelphia Waterdogs to a 14-4 win over the Denver Outlaws in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) championship game last Sunday at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, he was overcome with emotion as tears welled up when he reflected on
the triumph.

“I am not sure if it is tears because I am so happy or it is tears because I am 75 years old,” said Tierney on the ABC broadcast in an interview after the game. “These guys have
been amazing.”

In his tenure with the Waterdogs, Tierney has engineered an amazing turnaround for the club as it went from 2-8 in his first year at the helm in 2024 to 11-3 this season including two playoff wins.

“They just bought into a message that we sent,” said Tierney, who was named the 2026 PLL Coach of the Year and became the first coach to win both an NCAA Division I and professional title in his career. “It was the mix of the young and the old. You just saw it out here, they all wanted this badly. I am so proud of them.”

Tierney was proud of former Princeton standout Michael Sowers ’20 who combined with CJ Kirst to give the Waterdogs a potent one-two punch on attack as Sowers tallied two goals and two assists in the championship game with Kirst exploding for five goals and two assists.

“It is everything; we tell the guys the last few weeks when in doubt, let’s not be silly, get the ball to Michael, get the ball to CJ,” said Tierney of Sowers, who was named the PLL Attackman of the Year while Kirst was chosen as the PLL Most Valuable Player. “They will do the work. You saw a deeper team today but it starts with those two obviously.”

Sowers, for his part, sensed that the addition of Kirst to the Waterdogs in 2025 would make a huge difference.

“We were coming off a 2-8 year and I knew the talent that he was,” said Sowers. “But what goes a little unnoticed is the person and the teammates that he is. I told him the minute he walked in that locker room, everything changed just with his energy and his humility. He has been everything you could ever ask for.”

Another former Tiger standout, two-way midfielder Zach Currier ’17, provided energy and a unique skillset for the Waterdogs.

“I bring versatility and wherever the team needs me most, I can usually fill in that gap whether that is on offense or on defense or taking the odd face-off,” said Currier, who contributed two goals, nine ground balls, and two faceoff wins in the final. “It is just being able to fill in where they need me and let everyone else have the ball. I don’t really need the ball on offense when I have CJ Kirst and Michael Sowers.”

Currier, who was named as the PLL Midfielder of the Year, looked to help some of his younger teammates get up to speed this summer as they made their PLL debuts.

“Our midfield was four rookies and I would sub in for a shift here or there when I could,” said Currier. “I think it just takes a little bit of chemistry. They were getting acclimated to the pro game and the rules. It is way faster and there are so many skilled players on the other side of the ball. It just takes a bit to acclimate. Once they got comfortable, it was game over for everyone else.”

The Waterdogs developed a comfort level collectively as they caught fire down the stretch.

“Our team is so talented top to bottom,” said Currier. “We kept saying in the locker room that we still haven’t played our best game. Even today, we played pretty good. It was 14-4 but we still have got more in the tank which is crazy. Hopefully we can get as many guys as we can back next year to make another run at it.”

Sowers, for his part, enjoyed his time with the guys this season.

“I think that was the beauty of this team this year, we were just having fun,” said Sowers. “Something that we preached all year long was let’s just have fun and play this game and that is exactly what we did.”

While Sowers appreciates the accolades he has earned over the years, he had the most fun winning a title. “Awards are nice but you can’t beat this,” said Sowers.

You could tell that that by Coach T’s tears of joy as he savored his pro championship moment.