Hens 2027

[LILax]

So what is next for the Delaware Men's lacrosse squad?

The last two years were basically lost years for the program where they struggled to shoot straight and keep players healthy. This year you could count at least 10-12 injured players not dressed for each of the team's games. That is extremely high. The players who were missed due to injury included senior defenseman and captain Pat Gillin who was out of action after game #3 this year, highly recruited freshman Matt Triolo who missed every game after the St.John's win, Grad student Matt Montgomery who missed the entire season for the second straight year (Pretty sure he will not come back for a 7th year), Senior attackman/middie Riar Schell (who probably will not return), junior athletic midfielder Ryder Villani (entire season), versatile junior LSM/SSDM Owen Black (entire season), freshman four star defender Sean Eeels (entire season), sophomore 4 star defender Lange Gaspar (entire season), and highly-recruited SSDM Duncan Barnes (entire season and all but three games his freshman year).What the Hens missed mostly from this crew were defenders with size and strength to stop physical dodgers. The St. Joes debacle would have been much worse if Silverstein didn't stand on his head in goal. SJU offense is made up of beastly physical players who will their way into the crease for goals. Delaware had zero answers on Friday.

So lets start with the premise that most of these defenders will be back and healthy next year. That would help build much-needed depth at defense. But the larger problem with this squad is an offense that was really ineffective and tough to watch. D'Ambrogi, Powers, Kolbe, Capri, Morgan, Gravante, Kolar and Fix are all gone, so that opens up some spots for new comers and returners.

So who are the newcomers? DeLuca is bringing in 10 freshman recruits from the class of '26. The Hens return 37 players with a potential for 38 if Pat Gillin takes advantage of a medical redshirt.

Top four star recruit Patrick Maloney from Perkiomen Valley HS is a beastly versative two-way middie who had 56 points in his sophomore year and won 75% of the faceoffs that he took. Maloney does not play in the most competitive league in Philly, so I would take all his stats with a grain of salt. He will most likely contribute primarily as a SSDM at UD

Bennett Cook is a two-handed four-year starter at Loyola Blakefield at attack. He had an 86 rating in Inside Lacrosse which is very good. I have seen him play a couple games in the competitive MIAA and he stands out as a very athletic play maker at attack. If you watch his highlight reel on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XB803IYgWk you would have a hard time deciding which hand is stronger for Cook. He has an excellent shot and seems to always make the right pass.

Another MIAA star Drew McDonald is a twitchy lefty midfielder from Boys Latin. I believe he will have an opportunity to play as a freshman on this middie-depleted squad.

Another twitchy lefty comes to UD from Apex North Carolina. His name is Caden Gulbranson. If you watched the UD game against Utah the last two years, you would be familiar with Ryan Stines the all-american attackman from the same HS as Gulbranson. This kids is small but quick and very athletic on the lefty wing. His video is worth watching. https://www.google.com/search?q=caden+g ... 6cnFM,st:0

The Hens bring in a big athletic defender from St.Xaviers in Cincinnati named Rowdy Scheer. Scheer is from the same high school as Cornell legend and head coach Connor Buzcek. He will definitely get a look at LSM his freshman year. He has the size speed and strength to be a difference maker on the field.

DeLuca is bringing in two Canadians that I think he took a flyer on. Neither of these two are primarily field players and there is not a lot of film on these guys. Cash Frijters is a small crafty righty attackman who has excellent speed and quickness and won MVP honors at the Minto cup as a sophomore. Reminds me a little of the Acchione twins. The other Canadian from Ontario is Owen Vivian who is a very strong and talented defender both in box and outdoor lacrosse. Owen definitely has a mean streak and will remind you of some of those vicious SSDMs that the Hens faced last week on Hawk Hill.

Another interesting recruit comes from Langley HS. Cole Samburg commited early to Vermont before changing his mind to join the Hens next year. He is an excellent FOGO but also incredibly talented defender and scorer at Midfield. Excellent athleticism. Not sure where DeLuca will play Samburg but he is a swiss army knife of players. Not highly rated because of his lack of play against nationally ranked programs. Maybe an under-the-radar steal for the Hens?

Two local "Philly" guys also join the team next year. One is Jacob Garrity is a goalie for the nationally ranked Salesiunum. I have never seen him play but I have heard great things about this kid. The second is a lefty attackman named Brady Cetera who has starred at Downingtown West the past two years. Again, not sure if this is a guy who will make an immediate impact, but has the skills to make a difference at midfield where the Hens need help.

That is all I have. Most of these guys have videos on YouTube so if you have time, check them out. It is a decent class that will need to get up to D1 standards quickly in order for the Hens to make a run in the Atlantic 10 next year. They will also need to get a bunch of their stars back on the field next year. Way too many injuries.

[77HEN]

Thanks for all that info LILax. Just the numbers suggest we could be hopeful for next season. One player you mentioned in the Recruiting thread was Jordany Rosario from the Bronx. Is he still on the books? Do you think he can make an impact? I was thinking of him trying to step in against those big St. Joe’s defenders and wondered how he can physically hold up. Thanks again, it’s a long time from now to next season.

[LILax]

Thanks for all that info LILax. Just the numbers suggest we could be hopeful for next season. One player you mentioned in the Recruiting thread was Jordany Rosario from the Bronx. Is he still on the books? Do you think he can make an impact? I was thinking of him trying to step in against those big St. Joe’s defenders and wondered how he can physically hold up. Thanks again, it’s a long time from now to next season.

Jordany is only a junior in high school. He will be part of the ‘27 recruiting class.And yes, he needs to beef up a bit before landing in Newark. He is super quick so that sometimes makes up for a lack of bulk.

[BlueHenBill]

LI Lax, What are your views on the 5-on-5 (one attackman stays just out of the attack area on the other side of the restraining line drawing a defender out to cover him) Lax strategy frequently employed by St. Joe's. Unless you don't cover the 6th attackman (dangerous to leave that 6th man uncovered?) it creates more space in the attack zone due to 5-on-5 instead of the normal 6-on-6. Would you favor UD adopting 5-on-5 to possibly help score more goals due to the extra space?

[LILax]

LI Lax, What are your views on the 5-on-5 (one attackman stays just out of the attack area on the other side of the restraining line drawing a defender out to cover him) Lax strategy frequently employed by St. Joe's. Unless you don't cover the 6th attackman (dangerous to leave that 6th man uncovered?) it creates more space in the attack zone due to 5-on-5 instead of the normal 6-on-6. Would you favor UD adopting 5-on-5 to possibly help score more goals due to the extra space?

I have coached lacrosse for many years and there are a lot of tactics that coaches will use to gain an advantage. I have no idea if this would work for the Hens. I have not seen this tactic work on a consistent basis for any team. I think it is something that you might use if you think you have an athletic advantage with one player that can run by his defender and cause long slides that are tough to defend. Coaches at the D1 level will implement a lot of "junk" defenses and offenses when things are not working or they believe it will provide an advantage on that side of the field. The Hens have unsuccessfully tried the ten-man ride over the last couple of years. It just doesn't work for this team for some reason, whether it be lack of athletes or unsuccessful coaching of that tactic.

Teams like Bucknell, Colgate, Boston University, St. Joe's and Villanova have used the 10 man-ride for years to gain a possession advantage. They have a huge advantage by leveraging fast, physical, athletic players in the middle of the field to cause turnovers. Does it always work? No. The teams that predominantly use junk defenses have not won any significant championships because when they face talented, fast, athletic teams with great coaching, it mostly doesn't work. In fact, quite often it leads to open-net goals. Teams like Notre Dame and Virginia have been successful using the 10-man ride sporadically because they implement it at strategic moments and often surprise their opponents. If you do it every time, good teams figure out how to break it.

On the other hand, teams like Maryland never (or very rarely) use the 10 man-ride because Coach Tillman wants to sub out to get his best defensive players on the field and ready to defend. If you noticed when the Hens played Maryland, they went 100% on clears because Maryland was just getting back on defense and applying no pressure.

This is just my opinion about junk offenses and defenses. You figure out match ups and decide where you would get an advantage. DeLuca obviously does not believe his team is better going 5 on 5 on offense.

[77HEN]

I don’t know if creating more space that way would help the Hens this year, they were pretty bad on 6 on 5 man up opportunities - 5 of 31 vs 13 of 31 for opponents.