2020 Men’s NCAA D1 Goalie Stick Setups
The stick setup post has become somewhat of a regular series here on the blog.
If you’re new to this style of post, here’s how it works.
We take the top 20 D1 men’s goalies (as ranked by save percentage) as of March 12 (seen here), then take a look at which stick head, mesh, and shaft their starting goalie chooses to arm himself with.
As always – if the pictures I’ve found are not the real story, please leave me a comment down below.
2020 NCAA Men Lacrosse Goalie Stick Setups
#1 Owen McElroy – Georgetown
- STX Shield
- 20 Diamond – 4 Straight Shooters
- Attack shaft (maybe a little longer)
#2 Toby Burgdorf – Providence
- STX Eclipse Original
- 12 Diamond – 3 Straight Shooters
- Attack shaft
I would love to chat with Toby about the setup with his hands in his stance. My bet is he had an issue with bringing his hands into his chest on the shot so he purposely sets up with the top hand a little further out towards the shooter so that when the release happens his hands are actually in the right spot.
Here’s another view –
Edit: Connected with Toby on Instagram and he did confirm my theory about his top hand setup.
#3 Daniel Hincks – Dartmouth
- STX Shield
- 12 Diamond – No shooting strings (???)
- Attack shaft
No shooting strings? Might as well play with no pants while we’re at it.
#4 Wyatt Schulper – Army West Point
- STX Eclipse 2 – Black
- 12 Diamond – 1st pic looks more like 20 diamond tho – 2 U’s Shooting Strings
- Attack Shaft
Black head on a black shaft looks clean!
#5 Cam Logan – Hartford
- Under Armour Headline
- 12 Diamond – 4 straight across, 2 nylons, 2 hockey laces
- Goalie shaft
#6 Brendan Krebs – Manhattan
- STX Eclipse 2
- 17 Diamond – 3 shooters straight across
- Attack shaft
#7 Tommy Lindger – UMBC
- STX Eclipse 2
- 12 Diamond – 3 straight across, 2 cotton, 1 nylon shooting string
- Goalie shaft
#8 Mike Adler – St. Joes
- STX Eclipse 2
- 12 Diamond – 2 Cotton Straight across shooting strings
- Attack shaft
Had Mike Adler on the podcast btw! Great guy. You gotta hear his story about getting attacked by a shark in high school.
#9 Nick Washuta – Vermont
- STX Eclipse 2 with a sweet dye job
- 20 Diamond – 4 shooting strings, 3 straight, 1 V
- Goalie shaft
#10 Josh Kirson – Ohio State
- STX Eclipse 2
- 20 Diamond – 3 shootings strings, 2 straight (1 nylon), 1 U
- Goalie shaft
#11 Matt Deluca – Delaware
- STX Eclipse 2 (top photo) or Warrior Nemesis 2 (bottom photo)
- 12 Diamond – 2 shooting strings
- Goalie shaft
#12 Drake Porter – Syracuse
- STX Eclipse 2
- 12 Diamond, 3 straight across (2 cotton, 1 nylon)
- Goalie shaft
#13 Sam Shafer – Loyola
- STX Eclipse 2
- 12 Diamond, 2 U Shooting Strings
- Goalie shaft
#14 Kyle Mullin – Harvard
- STX Eclipse 2
- 12 Diamond, 1 V Shooting string
- Goalie shaft
#15 Sam Lucchesi – Hobart
- STX Eclipse Original
- 12 Diamond – 3 Straight Shooters, 2 cotton / 1 nylon
- Goalie shaft
#16 Phil Goss – Brown
- STX Eclipse Original
- 12 Diamond – 2 U shooting strings
- Goalie shaft
#17 Jack Rusbuldt – Richmond
- STX Eclipse 2
- 12 Diamond – 2 U’s and 1 nylon shooting strings
- Goalie shaft
#18 Alex Rode – Virginia
- STX Eclipse 2
- 17 diamond – 2 straight shooters
- Attack shaft
#19 Liam Donnelly – Utah
- STX Shield
- 10 Diamond – 2 straight shooters – 1 cotton, 1 nylon
- Goalie shaft
#20 Joe McSorely – Boston U.
- Under Armour Headline
- 12 Diamond – 2 U’s and 1 nylon shooting strings
- Goalie shaft
Conclusion
So there we have it for the current top 20 goalies in NCAA Division 1 Men’s lacrosse, as ranked by their save percentage as of March 12.
Here’s the final total for goalie heads:
- STX Eclipse 2: 12
- STX Eclipse Original: 3
- STX Shield: 3
- UA Headline: 2
- Warrior Nemi 2: 1
21 total since I listed Matt DeLuca with 2 different heads. What do you use Matt??
For the mesh size:
- 12 Diamond: 14
- 17 Diamond: 4
- 10 Diamond: 1
- 20 Diamond: 1
Mostly 12 diamond as we would expect. 12 D is the standard for goalies.
And finally the shaft length:
- Attack Length: 8
- Goalie Length: 12
More and more goalies are opting for a shorter shaft size to increase their hand quickness in getting to the ball.
I guess the era of long goalie shafts is over.
Very interesting to see just how much the STX Eclipse 2 is dominating the goalie head market.
I’m curious why 3 goalies still go with the STX Eclipse Original. By every measure the Eclipse 2 is hands down way better. Maybe they haven’t experienced that magic yet.
Still not much love for the Warrior heads?
Until next time! Coach Damon
As always, see something wrong in these goalie stick setups? Leave a comment below and we’ll get it corrected.
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Why do you think none of these goalies use a Mark 2G or Nemesis 3?
There was a similar conversation on previous posts like this. My understanding is each school is sponsored by a particular brand. They get any head they want from that brand for free. If they want to use another head, they can but they have to pay for it and these are broke college kids haha. Boston for example is an Under Armour school so their goalies play with the Headline. I guess Warrior nor String King sponsor any of these schools. I don’t see anyone (not even PLL) guys using the Nemi 3. Not sure what’s up with that head, I’ve never played with it. Would love to get my hands on a Mark 2G to test out.
How about some love for the D2 goalies?
It’s a great big world out there that doesn’t end with the big schools.
There’s a LOT of talent at the D2 level.
Keep up the great work, love it!
My understanding is that almost all Nike schools provide STX goalie equipment.
The Nemesis 3 is the subject of a lot of debate about the head cracking very easily when hit on the upper left corner. It’s also illegal for use in Women’s lacrosse, which hurts it as well.
Makes sense regarding Nike as they don’t make goalie heads nor goalie gloves. Drake Porter from this post has STX gear even though Syracuse is Nike school.
Haven’t played with the Nemi 3 but its fragile? Bummer. Why is it illegal in girls lacrosse?
Nike and STX have a cooperative agreement. STX makes Nike’s equipment to Nike’s specs. A Nike school/team will generally use STX goalie equipment.
My son has been using a Nemesis 3 for over a year now. It’s seen year-round use and we’ve had zero issues with it, regardless of weather or temperature. Two sets of mesh have been worn out, but the head is still in great shape with no signs of cracking or warping. He’s a very active goalie outside of the crease, so the head has seen more than its fair share of ground balls and stick checks (giving and receiving), too. Ours is a sample size of one, so take it for what it’s worth.
A likely reason for a lack of adoption is that folks tend to go with what they know. And if they’re playing at a sponsored school/team/club, their choices are most often limited to whatever the school offers.
Thanks for sharing that Robert. I’ve heard feedback that they’re fragile and break easy but sounds like you guys have had a different experience.
Yeah I can give those D2 goalies some love too!
Tony Burgdorf goes to pc and it seems That is the hand technique they teach, tate Boyce did the same last year, maybe get Boyce on the podcast to ask him about it. I switched to the same thing after seeing him do it. It’s definitely different but I like it and I think it helped me
I think you’re right. I was searching for the images of Tate Boyce and look at the difference between his high school and college setup:
I like it. Just on pure looks, he seems way more athletic in college stance.
I am a high school goalie and I still rock the outrageously long shaft! Attack shafts just doesn’t give me as much leverage for guilmans or clears, as a long shaft would.
Long shaft FTW!
And it’s carbon fiber!
Hey Coach,
I am a new follower and I would like to chime in on the Stx Shield. I am in high school and love the OG Warrior nemesis. But I have a shield setup too
In my experience The sheid is a pain to string and is a hard to get a good pocket, but if you do a triangle top you can get a pretty good release with no strings
I rock the no shooters too and it has yet to let me down.
Thanks for adding that Devin. No shooter crew!
Quick question on Helmets. What do most HS/College Goalies wear for helmets? I noticed that Cascade put out a new one, the XRS. Is the S (now a bit less than the XRS) a good helmet?
I’ve also seen a few helmets from Warrior and Schutt online with various reviews.
I think for a goalie protection and vision are the two most important aspects? Do you have any suggestions?
Hey Ryan, most college goalies are either with the S or the new XRS. S is definitely a solid helmet. There really needs to be a goalie helmet with reinforced forehead protection. Until then look into something like the Lax GOalie shield for aftermarket protection during practices.
Few thoughts… fun stuff as always, Damon
Shifting the top hand out is an easy tweak to improve your “eye/thumb/ball” triangle.
For keepers struggling with wet pockets… abandon the hockey laces and go all nylon.
For anybody looking to try something different….put a goalie length wooden shaft on your favorite head. (I played with wood all through college in the mid 90’s).
Minimal effect on hand speed and makes the stick very balanced. You can really dial your outlets in too because you’re not grunting to get it there.