Ben DeLuca
The Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Men's Lacrosse
Phone: 255-7332
Email:
bad6@cornell.edu
Ben DeLuca, a fixture on the Cornell men’s lacrosse sideline for the past decade, became The Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Men's Lacrosse on June 18, 2010. DeLuca, the 10th head coach in program history, is uniquely suited to run the Big Red, as he has played for, or coached under Cornell’s last three coaches – Richie Moran, Dave Pietramala, and Jeff Tambroni.
During DeLuca’s time as both an assistant and associate head coach at Cornell, the East Hill has seen a resurgence of one of the greatest programs in the history of collegiate lacrosse as the Big Red has advanced to three final fours in the past four seasons, including a spot in the national championship game in 2009.
In total, DeLuca has spent 16 years at Cornell, including four years as a player for the Big Red before serving as an assistant coach for two seasons. A brief two-year hiatus took DeLuca away from Ithaca and into the business world, but he returned prior to the 2002 season and he was promoted to the top assistant position under Tambroni in the summer of 2003. He became the first Mario St. George Boiardi Assistant Coach of Men's Lacrosse the following year and was promoted to associate head coach following the 2007 season.
Since rejoining the coaching staff in 2002, DeLuca has helped the Big Red to an undefeated regular season (13-0), six 11-win seasons, a pair of nine-win seasons and eight Ivy League titles. Under his tutelage, 11 of Cornell's defensive players have earned first-team All-Ivy, as well as All-America honors, including three-time All-American selection Matt Moyer ‘09. DeLuca was also key in the development of Mitch Belisle '07, who became Cornell's first winner of the USILA's Schmeisser Cup, given to the nation's best defender, since Chris Kane garnered the award in 1978.
DeLuca, the 2007 IMLCA Assistant Coach of the Year, has been the Big Red's defensive coordinator for the past seven seasons and during that time the Cornell defense has become consistently one of the best in the nation.
During the 2010 campaign, DeLuca earned great praise as the Big Red advanced to the NCAA semifinals with two freshmen defenders playing in front of a freshman goalie. Cornell ended the season ranked 15th in the nation in scoring defense (8.72). That performance came on the heels of a 2009 campaign in which DeLuca did one of his best coaching jobs to date. Faced with nearly an entirely new defensive unit, the Big Red jelled over the second half of the season as Cornell advanced to the national championship game. Despite finishing the year ranked 17th in the nation in scoring defense (8.41) and 28th in man-down defense (.667), the Big Red posted significantly better numbers in its final eight games, holding opponents to just 7.35 goals per game and killing 75 percent of its opponents’ extra-man opportunities.
A four-year letter winner on defense for the Big Red, DeLuca donned the Carnelian Red and White for three years under legendary coach Richie Moran, before becoming a captain his senior year under former head coach Dave Pietramala. He was voted the team's outstanding senior athlete for his leadership and dedication on and off the field. DeLuca earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nutritional sciences and biochemistry in 1998.
A native of Rochester, N.Y., DeLuca resides in Ithaca with his wife, Laurie,
a former All-American goalie for the women’s lacrosse team at the University of Delaware, and their daughter, Elizabeth.
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