Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/26/15
From Press Release
Marquette University head men’s lacrosse coach Joe Amplo has announced the addition of 11 student-athletes for the 2015-16 academic year, all of whom will have four years of eligibility remaining.
The group adds size to Marquette’s current roster with six players checking in at over 6-feet-tall and includes seven midfielders, two attackmen and a pair of long pole players.
The Golden Eagles signed a pair of high-scoring Michigan prep players to National Letters of Intent in November in Bob Pelton (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) and John Wagner (St. Davids, Ontario/Cranbrook (Mich.)) and added another nine players this spring.
The class is expected to play a large role for the Marquette program as 18 current Golden Eagles are expected to exhaust their eligibility following the spring of 2016.
No. Student-Athlete Pos. Ht. Weight Hometown High School
16 Randy Black LSM 5-7 160 Orangeville, Ontario The Hill Academy
36 Brendon Connolly LSM/D 6-3 195 Towson, Md. St. Paul’s School
15 Matt Del Duca M 5-9 160 Wyckoff, N.J. Ramapo
34 Scott McNamara M 5-11 175 Apple Valley, Minn. Academy of Holy Angels
47 Brett Molina M/FO 5-10 175 San Diego, Calif. Cathedral Catholic
23 Bob Pelton M 6-0 185 Grand Rapids, Mich. Forest Hills Northern
40 Noah Richard M 6-3 200 West Chester, Pa. Henderson
7 Colin Strange M 5-9 165 Lancaster, Pa. Hempfield
18 Luke Vassos M 6-2 200 Bethesda, Md. Gonzaga Prep
77 John Wagner A 6-2 190 St. Davids, Ontario Cranbrook (Mich.)
19 Josh Williamson A/M 6-0 175 Redondo Beach, Calif. Redondo Union
Randy Black | LSM | 5-7 | Orangeville, Ontario | The Hill Academy
Prior to Marquette: Black played at The Hill Academy, where current MU players Kyle Whitlow and Tyler Gilligan also competed … Led the Hill Academy to a 13-1 record in 2015 … Helped the Hill Academy to a championship in the 2015 North American Lacrosse Tournament with a 12-11 overtime victory over Culver … Named 2014 team most valuable player … Played for the Orangeville Northmen junior A box lacrosse team in 2015 after winning rookie of the year honors in 2014 for the club’s junior B squad … Assistant captain for box lacrosse team in 2013 and 2011 … Also played hockey.
Personal: Born in Orangeville, Ontario … Son of Barb Black and has one older sibling, Morgan … Plans to major in sociology.
Brendon Connolly | LSM/D | 6-3 | Towson, Md. | St. Paul’s School
Prior to Marquette: Two-year letter winner at St. Paul’s School (Towson, Maryland) … Competed on the Under Armour Underclass Baltimore Team in 2014 … Also excelled at volleyball in high school, garnering the 2015 George L. Mitchell ’44 Best Athlete Cup and being named Under Armour Underclass All-American in 2014.
Personal: Born April 18, 1996 in Towson, Maryland … Son of Charles Connolly and Suzanne Koch … Has one brother, Brain, and one sister, Bridgett.
Matt Del Duca | M | 5-9 | Wyckoff, N.J. | Ramapo
Prior to Marquette: Four-year letter winner and named team captain during his senior season … Named All-Bergen County First Team in lacrosse and was also a first team all-state honoree during his high school career … Tallied 32 goals and 50 assists during his senior season … His 82 total points during his senior year were a career high … Finished his career with 83 total goals and 77 assists for 160 career points … Played cornerback and wide receiver on his football team … Helped the team to a state championship in 2012 … Totaled five interceptions as a cornerback and 388 yards on 35 receptions at the wide receiver position during his senior campaign.
Personal: Born August 8, 1996 in Wyckoff, New Jersey … Son of Evelina and Jack Del Duca … Has one brother, John, and one sister, Mia.
Scott McNamara | M | 5-11 | Apple Valley, Minn. | Academy of Holy Angels
Prior to Marquette: Four-year letter winner at the Academy of Holy Angels (Richfield, Minn.) and was named team captain during his junior and senior seasons … Ranked among the top 200 high school seniors in the class of 2015 by StudentSports … Earned a bevy of awards as a senior including first team all-section, first team all-state, All-American, Epoch Lacrosse Player of the Year and Minnesota Mr. Lacrosse … Named team’s rookie of the year as a freshman … Garnered numerous awards his sophomore year including team MVP, first team all-section and first team all-state … Named to third team all-state and first team all-section as a junior … Tallied 51 goals and 25 assists during his sophomore campaign … Notched 63 goals and 33 assists as a senior to lead the state of Minnesota in points… Also played hockey as a sophomore, junior and senior.
Personal: Born March 21, 1997 in Apple Valley, Minnesota … Son of Sue and Joe McNamara … Has two brothers, Alex and Luke.
Brett Molina | M/FO | 5-10 | San Diego, Calif. | Cathedral Catholic
Prior to Marquette: Named all-academic by the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2014 … Won 60 percent of face-offs during his senior season … Molina joins fellow face-off specialist and 2014 signee Owen Weselak as native San Diegans on the MU roster.
Bob Pelton | M | 6-0 | Grand Rapids, Mich. | Forest Hills Northern
Prior to Marquette: Four-year letter winner at Forest Hills Northern High School (Grand Rapids, Michigan) and was named team captain during his junior and senior seasons … Ranked among the top 200 high school seniors in the class of 2015 by StudentSports … Was an all-state honoree during all four seasons of his high school career … Named All-America during his junior and senior campaigns … Three-time regional champion and appeared in the state semifinals on three occasions … Led his squad in total points during each of his four years and set career marks at Forest Hills Northern High School in assists, goals and points.
Personal: Born December 19, 1996 in Grand Rapids, Michigan … Son of Bob and Claudia Pelton … Has one brother, Bennett, and one sister, Paige.
Noah Richard | M | 6-3 | West Chester, Pa. | Henderson
Prior to Marquette: Three-year letter winner at B. Reed Henderson High School (West Chester, Pennsylvania) and was captain his junior and senior seasons … Recorded 125 points during his high school career, including 78 goals … Named to the all-league team three times, and all-district on two occasions … Tallied six other high school letters between basketball, football and track … Like lacrosse, Noah was captain of his football team during his junior and senior campaigns.
Personal: Born March 3, 1997 in West Chester, Pennsylvania … Son of David and Suzanne Richard … Has six siblings: Christopher, Timothy, Bethany, Jacob, Joshua and Rebecca … Brother, Jacob, is a senior on the Golden Eagles roster.
Colin Strange | M | 5-9 | Lancaster, Pa. | Hempfield
Prior to Marquette: Four-year letter winner at Hempfield High School (Lancaster, Pa.) … Named to the All-Lancaster Lebanon League during his senior season … Totaled 70 points on 42 goals and 28 assists … Member of Duke’s LC, one of the premier lacrosse clubs in the nation.
Personal: Born May 1, 1996 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania … Son of Linda and James Strange … Has one brother, Andrew and one sister, Emily.
Luke Vassos | M | 6-2 | Bethesda, Md. | Gonzaga Prep
Prior to Marquette: Four-year letter winner at Landon School (freshman year) and Gonzaga College High School (sophomore-senior year) where he was named captain for his senior campaign … Tallied 35 points in 18 games his senior season which included 15 goals … Conference champion during all four years of his high school career … Also played football in high school and was captain his senior year … Played in high school with current Golden Eagle defensive midfielder Colin Riehl.
Personal: Born June 26, 1996 in Silver Spring, Maryland … Son of John and Joan Vassos … Has three siblings, Allison, Erica and Nicholas.
John Wagner | A | 6-2 | St. Davids, Ontario | Cranbrook-Kingswood (Mich.)
Prior to Marquette: Earned a varsity letter during each of the three years he attended Cranbrook-Kingswood (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) and was voted captain for his senior season …. Ranked in the top 200 seniors in the class of 2015 by StudentSports … Was a three-time all-state and US Lacrosse All-America selection … Led his team to regional championships all three years of his high school career and helped the squad to state championships in 2013 and 2015 … Concluded his high school career by totaling five goals in the Michigan state title game against Okemos, including the game-winner with 10.5 seconds remaining … Also scored the game winner in the 2015 state semifinal … Amassed 69 goals and 41 assists as a senior, marking his third-straight 50-plus goal campaign … Netted 51 goals and tallied 30 assists in 20 games his sophomore season … Followed that with a 54-goal, 58-assist performance in 19 games during his junior season… Named Perani’s Michigan Lacrosse 2015 Player of the Year during his senior campaign … Also played hockey at Cranbrook and helped to Cranes to state titles as a sophomore and the program’s 17th state championship as a senior … Plays box lacrosse with the Niagara Thunderhawks junior B team … Picked Marquette over Syracuse, Cornell and Brown, among others.
Personal: Born May 4, 1997 in St. Catharines, Ontario … Son of Mike and Lainie Wagner … Has one brother, Ryan, and one sister, Rachel.
Josh Williamson |A | 6-0 | Redondo Beach, Calif. | Redondo Union
Prior to Marquette: Four-year letter winner at Redondo Union High School (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and was named team captain during his senior campaign … Garnered the all-class MVP award on three occasions during his high school career … Named first team all-league in 2013 and 2015, and earned team offensive MVP honors for his efforts during his senior season … Named an Adrenaline All-American during his senior campaign … Tallied 89 goals and 113 assists during his four-year high school career.
Personal: Born June 2, 1997 in Redondo Beach, California … Son of William and Silvia Williamson … Has two siblings, Kristina and Nick.