Building, then sustaining, success on the lacrosse field

The frenetic pace that is all part of the outstanding sport of lacrosse doesn’t appear to a noticeable problem for the 2025 Delaware Valley High School boys lacrosse program

The Warriors have an excellent record this spring and have won many games in convincing fashion. Through the first four weeks of April the Warriors had an overall record of 13-1.

This is due in large part to the highly capable seniors on the roster, including five the captains - Dean Finelli (defender), Keegan Heath (goalie), Peyton LaRocco (attack), Bryson Mackey (midfield) and Noah Rabolli (attack).

“Reasons are very simple for these guys (to be chosen as captains),’’ Delaware Valley head coach Jeff Krasulski said. “They all have a love for the sport, love for their teammates and have demonstrated that they are responsible.’’

Each captain has a particular leadership role on the roster.

The offense

“Bryson, Noah and Peyton are captains on our offensive end,’’ Krasulski said. “They set the tone with our off-season workouts. They are regulars at our before school stick work sessions during the winter.

“Peyton is the most vocal-looking to give tips and pointers to our under classmen and passing along all of the things he has learned and experienced.

“Bryson is known as the Big Dog because he is the tone setter for our team. No one gives more effort or is tougher than him on the field. His energy and relentless effort is something that our team builds off of.

“Noah is the lead by example for the team and always doing the little things correctly. He cares so much about helping and setting up his teammates for success more than for himself. Noah also has a great IQ for the game and can be relied upon to help with in-game adjustments from what he sees on the field.”

On defense

“Dean and Keegan are captains on the defensive end. Dean is the vocal leader of the defense. Dean, along with Keegan and Noah are always making sure that things are taken care of. They are the last ones to make sure what needs to be done gets done. Keegan is a team guy-he does all the little things to ensure that we are ready and doing what we need to be doing. All five of them have that team first mentality.’’

By the numbers

Noteworthy statistics have already been earned by the captains on the field this spring.

“Peyton LaRocco sets new scoring records for the school every time he steps onto the field,’’ Krasulski said. “Over his career he has 251 goals and 157 assists, both school records. He’s the first player with over 400 career points. Noah Rabolli just reached his 100th assist and [scored his 100th career goal on April 25]. Bryson Mackey is currently at 75 career goals and has a 74.5% faceoff percentage so far this season.’’

The coaching staff has witnessed each captain improve as lacrosse players throughout the course of their high school careers.

“For improvement our biggest need was unifying new players into the varsity program and passing the lessons forward that past captains taught them,’’ Krasulski said. “We have very talented underclassmen that are getting their first varsity experiences this year and these guys are making sure our guys are set up for success and are learning the ways to continue success.’’

The academic achievements of the leaders on the team are quite commendable.

“Peyton, Noah and Dean are National Honor Society,’’ Krasulski said. “Keegan is getting his best academic marks of his career this year and Bryson is also taking challenging classes like in my AP Statistics class.’’

The success that the Warriors have earned so far this season takes a total team effort. On May 6, the Warriors are scheduled to host Wyoming Area.

“Our defense had a very impressive game against Wyoming Seminary earlier this year,’’ Krasulski said. “They have a player who is going to be playing for Cornell next year and we shut them out for the final 32 minutes of the game. It was back and forth at the beginning, but we locked down and dominated.

“We have our starting defense return minus one player from last year. Dean, Chris Freeman and juniors Justin Estevez and Shaun Cannalley, and Chris Devaney set the stage for success and have been playing at a high level this year.’’