Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse has one goal in mind: a conference championship. But an influx of youth and staff changes stand to test the team this season.
Last year, the Bobcats made it to the MAAC tournament, falling to No. 3 Marist 29-19 in the first round. The 10-goal loss may be the motivation Quinnipiac needs to get over the hump — and Bobcats head coach Mason Poli agrees.
“It’s been a great preseason so far,” Poli said. “Being 7-7 last year has left a little hunger in the boys’ belly; our message has been to compete daily. It’s going to be big heading into week one having a full squad and a full depth chart and to be able to put our best product on the field Saturday.”
The new season looks promising for the Bobcats, with the team picked No. 5 in the MAAC preseason coaches poll. Quinnipiac also featured four players in the preseason All-MAAC team, including graduate attacks John DeLucia and Jake Tellers, senior midfielder Steven Germain and sophomore midfielder Ryan Downing. However, many of the faces trying to win it all will be new.
Of the 50 active players on the roster, 15 are freshmen.
“We’ve all been practicing together for months,” DeLucia said. “In these last two weeks you could just tell there’s a different excitement and intensity in the locker room, we’re all ready to go.”
Despite being a young program, Quinnipiac is still vying for a conference championship. With proper coaching and development, any of those 15 athletes could become productive at their positions.
However, former MAAC Faceoff Specialist of the Year Demitri George will be difficult to replace. George ranked 25th nationally in face-off win percentage throughout men’s NCAA Division I last season.
Not only does Quinnipiac’s roster look different, but its coaching staff also changed heading into 2024.
The team announced the promotion of Casey Eidenshink to associate head coach and the hiring of Ian Farley to execute assistant coach duties in the offseason.
Eidenshink has experience with the team, being with the Bobcats for four seasons. While Farley has the official title of “assistant coach,” he was hired to be the team’s offensive coordinator, according to Poli, effectively taking over Eidenshink’s old position.
In the press release announcing Farley’s hiring, Poli praised his new playcaller.
“We are very excited to welcome Ian Farley to the Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse program as our offensive coordinator,” Poli wrote on Oct. 30. “Ian brings with him a wealth of knowledge and a tremendous passion for the game. His commitment and dedication to the profession will help strengthen our program and assist us in supporting our student-athletes.”
Just a few days before the Bobcats’ first matchup of the season, team captain Trevor Douglas detailed how much he believes in the bonds that the team shares.
“It’s awesome to have so many familiar faces to be around,” Douglas said. “We spend so much time together that by now the whole team feels like a whole bunch of brothers.”
The Bobcats took their chemistry to their first game of the year against St. John’s in a 17-11 victory on Saturday.
DeLucia brought the scoring prowess with a hat trick to reach 100 points for his career. Junior goaltender Mason Oak’s fantastic defense not only earned him MAAC Defensive Player of the Week, but also helped Quinnipiac start the season undefeated.
The season just started — the Bobcats still have 12 games left before postseason play — but the goal remains the same. With youthful energy, collectiveness between the veterans and the “intensity in the locker room,” men’s lacrosse’s championship aspirations are sky high.
