2023 Marquette Lacrosse: Defensive Preview
The Golden Eagles return three starting defensemen and goalie plus an all-league FOGO
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DEFENSIVE PREVIEW
Returning Starters:
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— Marquette Lacrosse (@MarquetteMLax) January 30, 2023
-@MUCoachStim#WeAreMarquette x @NCAALAX pic.twitter.com/ls4e8fwcnV
FACEOFF UNIT
| Faceoff Unit | 2022 Stats | Alternate | ||
| 4 | Luke Williams | FO | 15 GP, 13-of-234 (.568), 69 gb, 7 pts (4-3-7) | Cole Emmanuel |
| 30 | David Lamarca | LSM | 15 GP, 46 gb, 12 ct, 2 pts (1-1-2) | Logan Kreinz |
| 49 | Max Kruszeski | SSDM | 13 GP, 6 gb, 3 ct, 1 pt (1-0-1) | Chris Kirschner |
To be a championship team you have to have great faceoff guys. You have to have a guy to win you the ball in big moments and I think we have multiple guys who can do that. It is going to be the strength of our team. What they can do and how they can create offense and get us the ball in big moments.- Head Coach Andrew Stimmel on the importance of the faceoff unit
Luke Williams turned the corner last season into an all-conference face-off specialist. Not an easy feat considering the perennial strength of his league counterparts at Georgetown and Denver.
The Minnesotan posted a .568 percentage at the dot, grabbed a team-leading 69 ground balls, and contributed to MU’s early offense with a career high seven points on four goals and three assists. He was even more efficient in BIG EAST play, winning at a .617 clip with 35 ground balls and a pair of goals in five games.
With Williams, Cole Emmanuel and newcomer Grant Evans as options at the dot, Stimmel will have a plethora of options to switch things up based on matchups and to initiate early offense.
Lamarca is an All-BIG EAST Preseason Team selection at long-stick midfield after picking up 46 ground balls and causing 12 turnovers last season. The junior started early in the season at close defense and is one of the best on the team off the ground – high praise considering the roster also contains Mason Woodward and Zach Granger. In addition to Lamarca, graduate student Logan Kreinz played much of last year as the top LSM, especially when Lamarca was starting on the backline.
Although the Golden Eagles lost key defensive midfielders Jacob Hallam and Anthony Courcelle, Kruszeski has been a vital part of the rope unit and has played a significant role in each of his three previous seasons, seeing action in 31 contests.
CLOSE DEFENSE
| Close Defense | 2022 Stats | |
| 21 | Zach Granger | 7 GP/GS, 18 gb, 13 ct |
| 55 | Noah Verlinde | 15 GP/9 GS, 12 gb, 9 ct |
| 77 | Mason Woodward | 12 GP/GS, 60 gb, 19 ct, 1 pt (0-1-1) |
They have a chip on their shoulders and want to be great. Mason and Zach get a lot of attention, but Noah Verlinde is an incredible defenseman. He played up top and down low for us last year when we were beat up. That was great experience for him and some of the matchups that he had to manage.- Stimmel on MU's close defensemen
Two-time USILA All-American Mason Woodward returns as the stalwart of the defensive unit. He averaged five ground balls per game last season and ended each of his first three seasons as the squad’s leader in caused turnovers, despite missing three games last year due to injury.
In a program known for producing professional talent on the defensive side of the ball, Woodward is set to move into second behind Team USA’s Liam Byrnes on MU’s career leaderboard in both ground balls and caused turnovers. Woodward is the program’s all-time leader in ground balls per game (4.58/g) and is second to Byrnes (1.67/g) in caused turnovers at 1.61 per contest.
Woodward’s partner for the past three years has been Granger, who was an All-BIG EAST selection in 2021, but missed all but seven games last season due to injury. Granger himself is sixth in program history in caused turnovers and has started on close defense in every game he’s played the last three campaigns.
Verlinde played as an LSM during his first two seasons, but started nine games last year on defense, picking up 12 ground balls and causing nine turnovers.
GOAL
| Goal | 2022 Stats | |
| 2 | Michael Allieri | 15 GP/GS, 4-11, 12.62 gaa, .501 sv%, 191 svs (12.73/g) |
Allieri stepped up last season to provide stability at a position with a lot of turnover since the graduation of Cole Blazer in 2019. Allieri led the BIG EAST with 12.60 saves per game, while playing all but 10 of MU’s 914 minutes played last season. He had a program single-game record 26 saves at No. 2 Georgetown on April 16 and recorded a season-long save percentage of .501 (.553 in BIG EAST play) with a goals against average of 12.62.
Returning Reserves:
FACEOFF SPECIALISTS
| Faceoff Specialist | 2022 Stats | |
| 20 | Cole Emmanuel | 6 GP, 38-of-64 (.594), 22 gb, 2 pts (2-0-2) |
| 33 | Luke Rios | DNP |
The faceoff position is such a confidence-based position and when you have success in a big game or against a big opponent, it just continues to build on itself. With Luke and Cole returning and some of the new guys added in, I do believe we have depth there. There’s no ego in that group. I think the guys understand that in certain games, certain matchups may be better for one guy than another.- Stimmel on MU's depth at the dot
Though Williams was an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection, Emmanuel had the highest face-off percentage on the team (.594) by winning 38 of his 56 draws. The transfer from Colorado Mesa had his best game of the season to end the year in MU’s BIG EAST semifinal loss to No. 2 Georgetown and USILA All-American James Reilly. Emmanuel won 14-of-21 (.667) faceoffs, while picking up nine ground balls and scoring one of MU’s five goals.
Emmanuel and Rios combine with Luke Williams, graduate transfer Grant Evans and freshman Adam Slager to form one of MU's most talented position groups.
I think Luke Rios is the unsung hero of that group, in terms of prep work, how he looks at film and how he helps teammates prepare for their opponents.- Stimmel on the importance of Luke Rios to the faceoff group
SHORT-STICK DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS
| SSDM | |
| 10 | Charlie DiGiacomo |
| 11 | Gabe Souza |
| 23 | Jack Nolan |
| 24 | Tommy Casey |
| 54 | Chris Kirschner (played offensive midfield in 2022) |
Kirschner slides over from an offensive and along with Kruszeski will be one of MU’s top options in the defensive midfield. He scored eight goals last season while starting all 15 games, while the rest of the group is very inexperienced. Souza, a transfer prior to last season from Jacksonville, leads the other returners with three games played last season, and Casey played in two.
LONG POLES
| Long Poles | Pos. | |
| 25 | Jack Kinney | D |
| 26 | Kelan Duff | D |
| 36 | Kayden Rogers | LSM |
| 38 | Logan Kreinz | LSM |
| 41 | Ryan Kilcoyne | D |
| 88 | Billy Rojack | D |
| 91 | Brenden Boyle | LSM |
This group received a good deal of playing time last season due to injuries to MU’s starting close defensemen.
Kilcoyne started alongside Woodward and Granger in the final six games last season, but Stimmel and defensive coordinator Jake Richard rotated David Lamarca and Noah Verlinde in as starters on close defense as well.
Kreinz, who has also used a short stick at times, is MU’s most experienced defensive player with 38 career games under his belt. He scored two goals last season with 25 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers while playing all 15 contests.
Duff, a transfer from Maryland, also started two games on close defense.
GOAL
| Goal | |
| 1 | Jamie Grant |
| 44 | Max Christides |
Grant and Christides combined to see just over 10 minutes of action last season and made three saves.
Defensive Newcomers:
TRANSFERS
| Transfers | Pos. | Prev. School | |
| 7 | Blake Lori | SSDM | Robert Morris |
| 34 | Jadyn Castillo | SSDM | CCBC Essex |
| 50 | Grant Evans | FO | Grove City College |
This group includes one transfer from the NCAA Division I, Division III and NJCAA ranks. Lori joins the program after three seasons at Robert Morris, where he appeared in 31 of 34 games in his career.
Evans was a four-year player at Division III Grove City College, where Stimmel was the MCLA Division II Coach of the Year in 2013. Evans was a two-time USILA Third Team All-American and the NCAA statistical champion in faceoff percentage in 2019. He ended his career at Grove City with a .762 winning percentage and 70 points, but will face stiff competition for playing time with Williams, Emmanuel, Rios, and freshman Adam Slager.
Castillo played two seasons at CCBC Essex, the alma mater for former MU close defenseman Jackson Ehlert. He is MU’s longest defensive midfielder and MU hopes to utilize his length on the wing.
FRESHMEN
| Freshmen | Pos. | Hometown/High School | |
| 8 | Mike Piraino | D/LSM | Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East |
| 18 | PJ McColgan | D | Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Xavier |
| 31 | Adam Slager | FO | Stoughton, Wis./Stoughton |
| 32 | Peter Detwiler | SSDM | Devon, Pa./Conestoga |
| 45 | Lucas Lawas | G | Horseheads, N.Y./The Hill Academy |
| 48 | Calvin Hicks | D | Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa |
Lawas was an Inside Lacrosse four-star recruit out of The Hill Academy, who reclassified from 2023, and will provide competition in net for the Golden Eagles. Detwiler has a path to playing time in the defensive midfield, while Slager, from Stoughton, Wisconsin, joins a competitive group of faceoff specialists. Piraino, McColgan and the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Hicks all join MU’s pole contingent.
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