2014 Journal Tribune Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year: Kennebunk’s Nicco DeLorenzo

KENNEBUNK — After goalie, Kennebunk boys lacrosse coach Dan Seavey says that long-stick midfielder is the likely most difficult position in boys lacrosse.

Requiring a unique ability of athleticism, stick skills, lacrosse IQ, stamina and the willingness to do a lot of work without much recognition, the LSM does the kind of yeoman’s work that can be the difference between having a strong defense and a weak one.

It’s been a luxury, then, for Seavey to have a player with just that mix for the past four seasons in Nicco DeLorenzo, who has developed into the kind of complete defensive lacrosse player in the middle of the field that opposing coaches advise their players to stay away from.

“There were so many different things he does for us,” Seavey said. “He probably has the best stick skills on our team ”“ and the best shot. He does all the little things like pressure the ball correctly, forces bad passes because other teams know how good he is and what he can do.

“It’s hard to get one of those players where everybody else knows who is, and honestly, is fearful of him. That makes him a valuable asset.”

This spring, DeLorenzo followed up on a tremendous junior campaign with a strong senior season, picking up 82 ground balls, forcing a massive 47 turnovers and racking up eight points on his few incursions into the offensive end as he helped lead the Rams to the Western Class B semifinals.

For being one of the best players in Maine at a position that is tough to master, DeLorenzo is the 2014 Journal Tribune Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year.

“He doesn’t get as much recognition, but I thought he was the best player in the state, and I thought he was last year,” too, Seavey said. “Ever since he was a sophomore, we’d just stand on the sideline and go, ”˜Wow.’ I saw him get beat one time, when we were playing an out-of-state team in preseason. Other than that, he may have gotten beat, but I don’t remember it.”

Seavey was an assistant in DeLorenzo’s freshman year, and does remember thinking Kennebunk had a special player on its hands from day one of preseason practice that spring.

“I remember we were in the gym, and we had the younger kids separated from the older kids doing drills,” Seavey recalled. “One of our assistant coaches who knew the youth players said, ”˜You might want to watch this kid.’ So I went over and looked at him, and it was impressive.

“We got him out on the field outside and had him do some one-on-one’s with our seniors, and it was just natural. I hadn’t even said a word to him, and he was doing everything right. From there, I knew he could play varsity.”

DeLorenzo, who played close defense in middle school, made the switch to long-stick middie as a freshman and has filled the role for the Rams ever since.

With the amount of running required of a LSM ”“ who enter the game on defense and typically come off once their team has the ball back ”“ most teams typically have two or three players to fill the role; not Kennebunk, which for the past four seasons has had just one ”“ DeLorenzo.

“He had legs like a horse, and for four years straight, he was our only guy,” Seavey said. “He kind of took one for the team playing all the time, and he wasn’t always at his best because he was tired. But the kid is a physical specimen, and we just couldn’t afford to not have him on the field. When he’s fresh, he did some crazy things.”

Craziest of all was DeLorenzo’s caused turnover number of 47, or nearly three takeaways a game. That ability to take the ball off an opponent came from shrewd positioning, strong footwork, stick control and an overall knowledge of the game, Seavey said, along with DeLorenzo’s knack for picking up contested ground balls in both the defensive zone and off of faceoffs.

“Whenever the ball was on the ground anywhere near him, even if he had two guys on him, I knew he’d come up with it,” Seavey said. “He’s a scrappy kid, and he knows how to get the ball. He’s like Tom Brady with the ball ”“ when Nicco had it, something good was going to come out of it.”

DeLorenzo’s play-making ability and innate instinct for taking away the ball was on full display when his team needed it the most this season. Trailing Falmouth 10-8 in a Western Class B playoff semifinal, and a man down with just over four minutes remaining, DeLorenzo came up with exactly the kind of performance that’s had Seavey saying wow for the past four years.

Playing defensive near the top of the Rams’ man-down zone defense, DeLorenzo picked off down what looked to be a straightforward pass between two Yachtsmen and raced down field, finishing with his long stick on a perfectly placed bounce shot to get the Rams back in the game.

Although Falmouth went on to win 12-9, it was the kind of play that leaves an impression, including on Seavey and Falmouth coach Mike LeBel.

“That was huge, because we could have won the game off of that push,” Seavey said. “That play, if you asked anyone who was at that game would remember that. He runs over in the middle of the field and picks it off one-handed, pushes it down field and scores. That was just him doing his own thing.”

“For him to be able to do that was impressive,” LeBel said. “We have three long-stick midfielders that we rotate in and out, and he’s their only one. He didn’t wear down and made a big play.”

DeLorenzo will continue playing lacrosse collegially at Colgate University, a Division I school in the lacrosse-rich Patriot League. DeLorenzo is the first Kennebunk player to receive a Division I scholarship since 2003 graduate Hunter Wakeland played at Army.

There’s little doubt in Seavey’s mind as to whether DeLorenzo, who has held his own at various tournaments and camps up and down the East Coast, will succeed at the next level.

“He’s a special one. It’s not every year you get a D-I guy,” Seavey said. “I’ve been around the sport for a long time, and I’d put him alongside the best to come out of the state. I just know from his demeanor, his athleticism and his lacrosse IQ, that he will do very well at Colgate.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected].