2024 Preview

[LILax]

This is pretty long, so don't read if you are not interested in the details.

2024 should be an interesting year for the Blue Hens. There are lots of question marks after losing Owen Grant, Tye Kurtz, Matt Kilkeary, Kevin Lynch, Kevin McCormick, Clay Miller and Jason Seiter to graduation. Obviously, Grant and Kurtz represent the biggest losses since they were among the best offensive and defensive players in the country. But not so obvious is the loss of Jason Seiter at SSDM. While his numbers don’t jump off the page (over the last two years averaged 45GBs and 9CTs), he was Delaware’s toughest one-on-one defender at midfield. He also managed to push transition quite a bit while scoring 7 goals and 5 assists over that two-year period. His toughness in taking on an opponent’s best middie will be sorely missed.

So who is going to contribute this year?
The Hens return two studs at attack -- Mike Robinson (145g 45a career) and JP Ward who has accumulated 82 goals and 75 assists in just two years as a starter. The two lefties will be joined at attack by a four-star freshman out of Wall Township NJ, John McCurry, who showed amazing poise and toughness as a ball handler and distributor in his fall debut against Georgetown. He had a terrific high school career scoring 197 goals along with 133 assists (330 pts). As a senior he led all New Jersey players with 76 goals and 64 assists, which got him selected on the First Team All State squad. Impressive. Coach DeLuca will need to find a way to get Finn Morgan on the field as well. The lefty sniper showed a lot of promise last year as a freshman and should get playing time on the man-up unit. He is the heir apparent to Mike Robinson in the lefty wing attack spot.

At offensive midfield the Hens return everyone from last year except for Clay Miller. They also return Drew Lenkaitis, who only played in two games last year after suffering an injury against Mt. St. Marys. The 6’3” lefty was instrumental in the Hen’s 2022 run in the NCAAs, including two goals and three assists in the upset win over #2 Georgetown. He joins fellow lefties Nick Jessen (18G 9A), Jason Kolar (23G 8A), Brendan Powers (14g 2a), Matt Acchione and righties Cam Acchione (23g 10a), Riar Schell (8G 1A) and freshman Ethan Krauss at midfield this year. Krauss was an extraordinary player at Shawnee HS in NJ where he finished with 317 Pts in three years as a varsity starter.

The defense will be led by three-year starter Tate Wasson who is coming off his best year with 33 GBs and 23CTs. He will be joined at close defense by senior Matt Montgomery (6’3” 210 lbs) and Colgate transfer Donny Gayhardt (6’5” 220 lbs) who was a second team All-Patriot selection with 23 GBs and 12 CTs last year. I would not be surprised to see four-star freshman Louie Atkinson (The Haverford School) get some time at close defense as well. The defensive midfield returns three strong LSMs in All-CAA Joe Speers, Nick Cowen and Patrick Gillen. They will be joined by an athletic and experienced group of SSDMs that includes Reed Kurtz, Aiden Fritz, John Schievert, Brooks Bond, and Justin Sanelli. Kevin Ellington will start in goal for the Hens. He has waited three years for his opportunity to start following a stellar prep career at Loyola Blakefield. He looked very comfortable in net for the Hens this fall.

Face-offs will be handled by Logan Premtaj. He will be facing tough competition again in the CAA, but he generally ends up in the .500 range. Back up duty will fall to Canadian freshman Nolan Bolger and soph Michael Straub.

Delaware by the numbers
The Hens offense ranked #8 nationally last year with 14.72 goals a game. The Delaware defense ranked #4, giving up just 9.44 goals against. And they were #2 in scoring margin (5.28) behind just Notre Dame. Of course these stats were helped by a less-than-challenging schedule. However, they performed extremely well in post-season against Towson, Stony Brook, Marist and Duke when it mattered. DeLuca has built an extremely disciplined program that is reflected in the Hens being ranked #6 in turnovers per game, #4 in clearing percentage (.910), #8 in man-up offense (.510) and #5 in man-down defense (.739). Delaware is 56-29 since DeLuca took over in 2018. More importantly, he has gotten the Hens back in the national conversation by winning the regular season CAA championship three straight years and the conference tournament the past two years. Not to mention beating #2 Georgetown in the first round in ’22 and putting a scare into the eventual NCAA runner-up #1 Duke (losing 12-11) in last year’s opener in Durham.

The Schedule
Based on last year’s final RPI the Hens are predicted to have a less than middling schedule with, at best, five games against top 25 teams [Syracuse (22), Penn (12), Michigan (9), Stony Brook (43) and Towson (41)]. Delaware will get zero credit for playing Lafayette (49), St. John’s (61), Hofstra (58), Drexel (42), Fairfield (57), Monmouth (59) and Hampton (75). Strength of schedule will be ranked around 40th toughest. Zero chance for at-large bid unless they run the table on Syracuse, Penn, Michigan and lose in the CAA finals, and probably not even then. So it’s another CAA or bust campaign.

So who is going to challenge for the CAA in ‘24?
You can never be sure how a season will shape up, but I think the Hens will have a decent chance to three-peat as CAA champs. The main competition should come from Stony Brook and Towson, who are both returning the vast majority of contributors from last year. Stony Brook will miss both Jonathan Huber who was second in goals scored (33) and Dylan McDermott at LSM. But they return almost everyone else including All-American candidate Dylan Pallonetti (51g 19a), Blake Behlen (23g 22a), Noah Armitage (26g 19a) and Matt Anderson (29g 16a). That is a lot of firepower for sure. Towson returns nearly everyone except for Kyle Berkeley (31g 16a), defenseman Garrett Zungalia and goalie Evan Long (.520). The Tigers went 6-9 last year but lost three one-goal games and were competitive with some top teams. Towson has a lot of young talent including sophs Joaquin Villagomez (27g 10a), Mikey Weisshaar (17g 8a) and FOGO Matt Constantinides (58%). Towson’s challenge will again be taking care of the ball. Last year they averaged 17.5 turnovers a game. That is a ton. Only 13 D1 teams averaged more.

Drexel and Hofstra may also surprise some teams this year. Drexel has lost a boatload of its top players (Jack Mulcahy, Sean Donnelly, Ben Scandone, George Grippo, Brennan Greenwald, Ross Blumenthal and Patrick Udovich) but they have also added some nice young players in recent years (Luke Tomak, Connor Hooley, Max Semple to name a few) along with some interesting transfers. In my opinion, they will go only as far as Tomak can take them. And like Towson, Drexel has had a turnover epidemic over the last few years averaging over 18 per game (8th worst in D1). Hofstra is a lot tougher to figure out. They seemed to struggle with injuries last year which led to an inconsistent offensive lineup. They certainly have the players to compete, but it is more a question about staying healthy and getting more consistent on offense. Defense has always been very solid for the Pride (ranked #13 in D1 last year 10.64 GAA).

The rest of the CAA (Monmouth, Hampton and Fairfield) will struggle to make the playoffs. Fairfield won just three games in conference beating Monmouth, Hampton and a surprising one-goal victory over Hofstra on the road. And to make matters worse, they lost their top goal scorer Jack McKenna to Ohio State in the transfer portal and team leader Max Paparozzi. Not sure any of these three teams will pose a threat in the CAA, but you never know.

On a side note, this will most likely be the Hens last year in the CAA, but they will still be eligible to compete in the CAA championship even after they announce a move to a new conference. This is the result of a long-overdue change in the CAA rules (which screwed over Penn State many years ago).

[mpwerrell]

Thanks LL!
Great analysis and preview and much appreciated.

[HENJOHN]

Nice summary. Thanks. Looking forward to this Season.

[Cluck U]

Thanks, LIL!

Fun read...love the detail.

[slobberknocker]

Outstanding preview! Thank you so much for your efforts to keep us informed about our Hens and also throughout the season with your scouting reports and analysis! You are the best!!
GO HENS!!

[dchen]

LiLax:

Any prediction on which conference UD Lax winds up?

[Milehighbluehen]

LiLax:

Any prediction on which conference UD Lax winds up?

If I were to guess I’d say they end up in the A10 with former conference foe UMass. I was at an alumni event several weeks ago and a fella from the university department of Development seemed to suggest the Big East was very much in play.

[Big R]

LiLax,
Thanks for taking the time to write this up and provide your insight. Anyone who follows your posts is interested in the details. I can’t imagine anyone with an interest in UD lacrosse not wanting to read every word.

[dchen]

LiLax:

Any prediction on which conference UD Lax winds up?

If I were to guess I’d say they end up in the A10 with former conference foe UMass. I was at an alumni event several weeks ago and a fella from the university department of Development seemed to suggest the Big East was very much in play.

FH needs a home as well. A10 and Big East sponsor field hockey, each with many affiliate members.

[dchen]

Impact transfer class rankings from Inside Lacrosse magazine. Michigan was #2 and Syracuse #1. Write-up follows:

2. Michigan

The Wolverines were another team that has provided opportunities for the Princeton Tigers looking to finish out their eligibility. Beau Pederson could be the best d-middie in the transfer group (along with Chase Yager, from Harvard to Virginia). Cathal Roberts was second-team All-Ivy, playing full-time LSM and taking wings on face-offs. He also started at close earlier in his career, so he provides some flexibility. Christian Ronda had 21 goals before breaking his collarbone in the Ivy League Tournament.

From the Patriot League, Michigan lands Andrew Stanzel — a hulking d-man and team captain who led the Bison in caused turnovers. If you can sneakily put up almost 50 goals, Lehigh’s Justin Tiernan did just that for the Mountain Hawks. The departure of Josh Zawada likely got more attention than the solid group coach Kevin Conry built to add to a roster that remains pretty full after last spring’s Cinderella season.


1. Syracuse

Last year’s incoming freshman class ignited a spark for the Orange en route to an 8-7 record and a lot of bright spots to build upon. Their Transfer Class of the summer of 2023 adds some gasoline. Three of the DI grad transfers are former All-Americans in Sam English (Princeton), Jake Stevens (Princeton) and Matt Wright (North Carolina). English and Stevens are among the prizes of the entire Transfer Pool. Christian Mule is a productive offensive force who really hit stride last season with 73 points for Lehigh. Steven Schmitt (Mount St. Mary’s) is the MAAC’s LSM of the Year.

Their DIII haul is impressive — and recent seasons have shown how much those players can contribute at the DI level. Mason Kohn (Tufts) is the DIII Face-Off Specialist of the Year, filling the Orange’s primary area of need. Jake Titus is a second-team All-America d-middie from Union, and Zack Puckhaber is an honorable mention All-American from Gettysburg.

They are all talented players whose accolades stand for themselves; three of them are in Terry’s Top 10 of individual grad transfer rankings. But what’s more important is how they bolster the biggest areas of need on Gary Gait’s roster.

[Milehighbluehen]

UD ranked 16 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine preseason poll

https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/college/ ... son-top-20

[UD '01 grad]

https://bluehens.com/news/2024/1/3/mens ... son-top-20

[LILax]

This is a pretty good write up on the #16 Hens in US Lacrosse magazine. Nothing we didn't already know.


https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/college/ ... laware-men

[Cluck U]

Thanks, LILax. Good read.

Plus, the links to the other UD lacrosse articles are also great reads. Nice detailed breakdown of how our defense deals with picks.

Have to admit, lacrosse writers provide a lot of good info. Seems as though there aren’t a lot of fluff articles.

[dchen]

From Terry Foy of Inside Lacrosse:

He has Delaware just outside of his top 20 with these comments. Interesting comment about the number of games they are playing 12 versus 13-14 for most everyone else.

Delaware O/U 8.5 (12 games)

Pick: Over
Having the Blue Hens outside my Top 20 is an acknowledgment of how good I think Owen Grant and Tye Kurtz are — nothing more. Certainly Michael Robinson and JP Ward have the ability to make me eat those words.

While I don’t have Delaware in my Preseason Top 20, I do have them going 9-3 or better during the regular season, which certainly suggests that I think they’ll appear on this list before too long. Delaware scheduled 14 games last season and ended up playing 18, so I'm not sure why they are playing two fewer this year. I’m going over because they can go 0-3 vs. Penn, Michigan and Syracuse and still hit the number, and they’re probably more likely to win one of those than not, so there’s a bit of cushion.

Foy's full top 20 with comments:

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... 8-54453117