Delaware Selected as Favorites in CAA Men’s Lacrosse for Second Straight Season
Hunter Peters
RICHMOND, Va. (Jan. 30, 2024) – Two-time defending CAA Men’s Lacrosse Champion, Delaware, was selected as the preseason favorite to hoist the team trophy again this spring in a vote of the league’s eight head coaches. Delaware senior
JP Ward and Stony Brook graduate student Dylan Pallonetti shared CAA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year honors. In addition, Towson senior Colby Barsz was named CAA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
The Blue Hens received six first-place votes and 48 points, followed by Stony Brook with two first-place votes and 43 points. Towson was third, tallying 37 points ahead of Drexel with 31 points. Hofstra (26), Fairfield (19), Monmouth (19) and Hampton (7) rounded out the eight-team poll.
Delaware won 13 games for the second straight season in 2023 en route to the CAA Regular Season title outright and back-to-back tournament championship titles. The Blue Hens return five players on the offensive end from a squad that ranked eighth nationally in scoring offense (14.72) last spring. Ward, a two-time First Team All-CAA honoree, was third in the NCAA with 85 points and fifth with 43 assists, anchoring the attack. Mike Robinson (32g, 16a) also returns on the attack, and Cam Acchione (23g, 10a) is back in the midfield. Graduate Reed Kurtz will provide the experience for the defense that was fourth nationally in scoring defense (9.44) last year but has production to replace this season.
Stony Brook found instant success in CAA Lacrosse, advancing to the title game in its first season in the conference. Pallonetti, a First Team All-CAA honoree, was crucial to the success, ranking 10th in the NCAA with 52 goals and 19th with 70 points last spring. He is one of two attackers returning to the starting lineup, while Noah Armitage (26g, 19a) is one of two returning starters in the midfield. Pallonetti and Armitage earned First Team All-CAA accolades last season, along with Christian Lowd (64gb, 30ct), who is back as the Stony Brook LSM. Michael Sabella (46gb, 18ct) and Jamison MacLachlan (195sv, .520sv%) also return to an experienced backend at defense and goalkeeper, respectively.
Towson, a perennial contender in CAA men’s lacrosse, qualified for the conference championship for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons last spring. Per usual, the Tigers did so on the prowess of their defense, which ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense (10.47). Colby Barsz (22gb, 18ct) was pivotal to Towson’s success defensively, earning his second straight First Team All-CAA honors after moving from LSM to close defense. In addition, three Second Team All-CAA honorees return for Towson - Nick DeMaio (29g, 21a), Josh Webber (12g, 12a) and Matt Constantinides (116gb, 207-369fo).
Drexel returned to the CAA tournament for the fourth consecutive season in 2023. The top returning point producer for the Dragons is Luke Tomak (25g, 10a), who earned Second Team All-CAA honors in the midfield last spring. He will look to pace the Drexel offensive unit, while Collin Gucwa (31gb, 12ct) is the lone returning starter for the Dragons on the backend and will anchor the defense.
Hofstra looks to return to the CAA tournament for the first time since 2021, when the Pride advanced to the conference title game. Crucial to Hofstra’s success this season will be its face-off specialist, Chase Patterson, back for his fifth year. Patterson led the CAA with 120 ground balls and posted a league-leading .595 face-off winning percentage last spring. In addition, a key newcomer for the Pride will be JT Roselle (47gb, 30ct), who earned First Team All-MAAC honors at Marist in 2023.
Fairfield just missed the CAA Tournament for the second straight season in 2023, and the Stags are hungry to break into the field for the first time since 2016. Fairfield returns two Second Team All-CAA honorees - Bryce Ford and Will Consoli. Last year, Ford (31g, 20a) led Fairfield with 51 points and was fourth in the CAA in points per game (3.64), while Consoli added 24 goals and seven assists en route to CAA Rookie of the Year accolades.
Monmouth enters year two in the CAA, looking to improve upon year one. Michael Quigg, a three-year starter on defense, returns after a career-best 17 caused turnovers last spring. Offensively, the Hawks turn back to Ty Caffarelli (31g, 4a), who proved to be one of the top freshmen in the league last year, earning CAA All-Rookie accolades.
Hampton concluded its first CAA season with a pair of victories, marking its first multi-win season since 2019. Dy-Jae Pearson earned Second Team All-CAA honors last year and looks to build off a tremendous first season with the Pirates. Pearson was fifth nationally with 37 caused turnovers and ranked third in the NCAA with 2.64 caused turnovers per game.
The 2024 CAA Men’s Lacrosse season begins on Saturday, February 3, with three conference teams in action on opening weekend.
The 2024 CAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship will be hosted by the No. 1 seed from Thursday, May 2 through Saturday, May 4. The semifinals will be on Thursday, followed by the championship on Saturday, with all three tournament games streamed on Lacrosse TV.
2024 CAA Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll
| Team (1st) |
Points |
| 1. Delaware (6) |
48 |
| 2. Stony Brook (2) |
43 |
| 3. Towson |
37 |
| 4. Drexel |
31 |
| 5. Hofstra |
26 |
| 6. Fairfield |
19 |
| 7. Monmouth |
13 |
| 8. Hampton |
7 |
Preseason Co-Offensive Players of the Year: Dylan Pallonetti, Stony Brook; JP Ward, Delaware
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Colby Barsz, Towson
2024 Preseason All-CAA Men’s Lacrosse Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Nick DeMaio |
Towson |
Gr. |
Attack |
San Diego, Calif. |
| Dylan Pallonetti |
Stony Brook |
Gr. |
Attack |
Stony Brook, N.Y. |
| Mike Robinson |
Delaware |
Gr. |
Attack |
Peterborough Ont. |
| JP Ward |
Delaware |
Sr. |
Attack |
Owings Mills, Md. |
| Cam Acchione |
Delaware |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Barrie, Ont. |
| Noah Armitage |
Stony Brook |
Sr. |
Midfield |
New Westminster, B.C. |
| Will Consoli |
Fairfield |
So. |
Midfield |
Glen Rock, N.J. |
| Luke Tomak |
Drexel |
Jr. |
Midfield |
North Haven, Conn. |
| Josh Webber |
Towson |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Sykesville, Md. |
| Matt Constantinides |
Towson |
Jr. |
FOGO |
New Fairfield, Conn. |
| Colby Barsz |
Towson |
Sr. |
Defense |
Matthews, N.C. |
| Collin Gucwa |
Drexel |
Jr. |
Defense |
Pottstown, Pa. |
| Reed Kurtz |
Delaware |
Gr. |
Defense |
Puslinch, Ont. |
| Christian Lowd |
Stony Brook |
Gr. |
LSM |
Smithtown, N.Y. |
| Dy-Jae Pearson |
Hampton |
Gr. |
Defense |
Harlem, N.Y. |
| Michael Sabella |
Stony Brook |
Gr. |
Defense |
Mount Sinai, N.Y. |
| Jamison MacLachlan |
Stony Brook |
Jr. |
Goalkeeper |
Syracuse, N.Y. |
Honorable Mention: Bryce Ford (A), Fairfield; Mikey Weisshaar (M), Towson; Chase Patterson (FOGO), Hofstra; Michael Quigg (D), Monmouth; JT Roselle (LSM), Hofstra
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