The Jacksonville University lacrosse programs open their seasons over the next six days with home games at Rock Stadium against national brands.
The Dolphins men will begin the season ranked 18th by both Inside Lacrosse magazine and USA Lacrosse and the women are 19th in both polls.
The men’s team, which moves to a revamped and deep ASUN Conference this season, opens Feb. 4 against Johns Hopkins (7 p.m.) while the women’s team, which has won the last four ASUN tournament championships and eight of the last nine, starts on Feb. 10 against No. 17 Michigan (4 p.m.).
The games kick off extended home stands to start the season. The JU men will play host to No. 7 Duke on Feb. 11 (Noon) — giving Duke a return match at the Dolphins won in Durham, N.C., last year — and Marist on Feb. 18 (Noon), while the women play their first seven games at home, following the opener by hosting No. 7 Rutgers, Army, No. 9 Stanford, No. 25 Arizona State, UMass-Lowell and Penn, in that order.
It’s a daunting schedule for both but it’s what will keep JU on a track to becoming national lacrosse powers.
“We’re certainly opening with blue bloods,” said JU men’s coach John Galloway, who guided the Dolphins to a program-best 14-3 record and the SoCon regular-season championship last year. “It all comes down to recruiting. Kids want to play against the best. And it prepares us for the conference tournament and hopefully the NCAAs. You don’t want to wait until May before you top-20 speed.”
JU women’s coach Tara Singleton takes over for Mindy McCord after she left to start a lacrosse program at South Florida after compiling a 170-62 overall record, a 70-6 conference record and nine total conference championships.
JU was 14-5 last season and beat Stanford in the first round of the NCAA tournament before losing to No. 7 Florida 15-10.
Singleton agreed that rugged schedules get players’ attention.
“This is going to be difficult but the team is really excited about the opportunities,” said Singleton.
Here are five other things to watch about each program as they each begin their 14th seasons:
JU men
1. Return to the ASUN
Galloway, who played on national championship teams for Syracuse, guided the Dolphins to a 22-10 record in five Southern Conference seasons. The Dolphins go back to the ASUN (where they played one season, in 2014) but it won’t be easy. JU was the preseason pick to finish second behind Utah and the league also includes Air Force, Detroit-Mercy, Robert Morris and Mercer — all tough outs.
2. Unfinished business
The Dolphins swept the SoCon regular season and routed VMI 13-5 in the tournament semifinals. But they lost to Richmond 10-9 in the championship game (JU beat the Spiders 13-11 during the regular season) and are still looking for their first NCAA tournament berth. “We had a great season but we fell one trophy short,” Galloway said.
3. Offensive punch
JU returns its top three scorers from last season, Max Waldbaum (48 goals, 24 assists, 72 points), Jacob Greiner (51-18-69) and Jackson Intrieri (31-30-61). They were the top-three single-season career marks in JU for points and Greiner and Waldbaum posted the best two single-season marks for goals.
4. 'Pretty special'
Waldbaum, a graduate senior from Denver, is the preseason ASUN player of the year. He has been an All-American on two levels (he played for NCAA Division III Tufts for four years before transferring to JU) and has 150 career goals in 51 games. “He’s pretty special,” said Galloway. “He’s the most competitive player I’ve ever coached."
5. Playing keepaway
Graduate senior Luke Millican is the preseason ASUN goalkeeper after leading the nation in allowing only 8.27 goals per game last season. He had the fifth-best save percentage (58.2) and was the starter in all 14 victories last season. Millican played at North Carolina, where he was on the 2021 ACC championship team. He did volunteer work at an orphanage in Uganda during the summer of 2015.
JU women
1. Changing of the guard
Singleton becomes only the second coach in JU history but she’s got plenty of LAX-cred. She was the defensive coordinator and recruiting director at Johns Hopkins for 10 years and as a player, was a second-team All-American at Loyola of Baltimore, helping the Greyhounds to four NCAA tournament berths and two appearances in the final four.
2. Winning is in the DNA
The Dolphins have had the greatest sustained success in the ASUN of any sport, men’s or women’s, with their eight regular season and eight conference tournament championships. JU has won its last 22 regular-season conference games, dating back to the 2017 season, and has an overall ASUN record, counting tournament games, of 69-2 (.972).
3. Elms Street
Graduate senior Sarah Elms has been among the most decorated JU players of all time. She already holds the career record for goals (209) and is eight points away from Jenny Kinsey’s career record of 271 points. Elms is the preseason ASUN player of the year.
4. Different coach, same style
Singleton was a defensive expert at Johns Hopkins and said other than “a few tweaks,” she wants the Dolphins to remain fast and aggressive. “I watched them play numerous times and was always impressed with the pace they play, the fearlessness they exude,” she said. “It’s an energy you can’t put into words.”
5. About that defense
The Dolphins may always be on the attack and led the nation in scoring last season with 17.21 goals per game. But defender Maddie Sturgell, midfielder Molly Brock and goalkeeper Paige Pagano helped JU finish fourth in the nation in scoring defense (8.37 goals per game) and Pagano was a big reason the Dolphins were fifth in save percentage (51.7). Brock and Pagano are the preseason ASUN players of the year at their positions and Sturgell was a unanimous All-ASUN preseason pick.
