Catching on

For 60 minutes, he played the role of leader.

‘It’s a pretty marquis win for the program,’ Copelan said, in perfect coaching cursive. ‘But we still have a lot to work to do.’

Then came a pause.

‘But, make sure you talk to Gary Raniolo. I can’t wait to hear this,’ Copelan added, cracking a smile and finally looking every bit the 27-year-old, not the poised head coach that pulled all the right strings in his first career game, a 10-9 win over Delaware.

Copelan was referring to one of three seniors that stood nearby to hear his post-game words: Raniolo, senior defensemen Matt Petre and Billy Honovich. All three spurred the effort and stunted a highly-touted Delaware offense.

‘When they scored, I think we made them earn their goals.’ Copelan said. ‘I don’t think we didn’t give them any cheap ones. I think defensively we kept our composure.’

Specifically, Petre shutdown Delaware attackman and preseason All-American honorable mention Curtis Dickson, who scored seven goals in his first two games of the season. Dickson was held to two goals last Saturday.

Raniolo and Honovich, who forced a ground ball and started a key fast break that led to a goal in the first quarter, both helped establish tempo.

‘We just work hard,’ Honovich said. ‘We know that sometimes teams may have better athletes than us but we have to outwork them and outsmart them in a sense and that’s what we did today.’

‘I think we played a full 60 minutes,’ Petre added.

As a result of the win, the Stags earned votes in multiple national lacrosse polls.

Now, with a game against Ohio State in Columbus and the team’s ECAC opener against Rutgers on the horizon, it appears that all eyes are on Copelan and the youthful lineup. But it is likely that senior leadership will dictate success.

‘We need everyone to be all in with us,’ Raniolo said. ‘We are going through our last year. We go by a motto, ‘Hold the rope.’ We ask all the guys to hold onto that rope and give it a 110 percent. We trust in them.’