New faces have taken over the Waterdogs’ defense from a season ago, and despite some first-half troubles, that group gave up one goal in the final 24 minutes of Philadelphia’s season opener.
Five Waterdogs players made their PLL debuts in Friday night’s 16-12 win over the Maryland Whipsnakes, and four of those were on the defensive side of the field (Jimmy Freehill, Ben Wayer, Dylan Hess and Kenny Brower).
With all of the newcomers, the defensive unit struggled in the second quarter as it got its bearings. The Whipsnakes scored seven points to take an 11-8 lead at halftime.
“Basically, it was [Ben] Randall and four rookies,” Waterdogs head coach Bill Tierney said. “Each one of them certainly showed that this can be one of those really renowned defenses in the league as they get to know each other.”
Out of the locker room, Tierney said the team made a few adjustments to what it saw from the Whipsnakes in the first half. Those changes gave starting goalie Matt DeLuca better looks to show what he was capable of.
“I thought he played well, but the second half is where you saw the real Matt DeLuca,” Tierney said. “Once our defense settled in and he saw some shots he liked, I thought he was really good.”
DeLuca earned the starting role earlier in the week, a secret Tierney kept within the team after a long training camp battle for the spot.
Tierney emphasized throughout training camp and at the end of last year that DeLuca was more confident and comfortable with being in the league than ever before.
“Being with these guys, going on my sixth year now, you naturally settle in,” DeLuca said. “In practice with some of the best players in the world, I get to go against these guys every week in practice which ultimately shapes my game. Over the years, you build confidence and understand it’s just like riding a bike.”
DeLuca immediately paid Tierney back for the decision with 12 goals allowed, a 62.5% save percentage and 15 saves — more than half of which came in the second half.
“After half, we started playing more aggressive,” DeLuca said. “We started playing more our game and not letting them play their offense but dictate the way we want them to play. All credit to the guys in front of me to hold down the fort and I was able to make a couple saves in the second half to close it out.”
After one of the best games in his pro career, DeLuca credited his success to his teammate he beat out for the starting job — Dillon Ward.
With 12 seasons of experience in the PLL, Ward flipped his cap to coach mode and helped out on the sidelines to review film, make adjustments and help deliver a win.
“Watching the film back you can see it, we get a TV timeout, you notice who we huddled around,” DeLuca said. “[Ward] has seen things, he’s been around the block and knows how to make adjustments. We all have 100% faith in him and the advice he gives us.”
Tierney said the Waterdogs need to clean up the two-pointers and iron out a few more details, but the defensive unit has “impressed” him so far. That’s quite the compliment from one of the greatest lacrosse minds in the history of the game.
