2023 NCAA D1 Men’s Goalie Gear Setup
By Coach Damon
May 1, 2023
The 2023 NCAA Division 1 lacrosse season is quickly coming to close so let’s take a look at the goalie gear setups used by the top keeps this season.
If you’re new here, this is where I take a look at the Top 20 ranked teams and we see what gear their goalie is using.
This blog post is somewhat of a tradition now and here are some past posts in this series:
The list of Top 20 teams was taken from Inside Lacrosse ranking as of April 28th, 2023. By the time you read this post the current men’s top 20 might look very different as it continues to shape and morph all season long.
But as of right now, here are the top 20 teams, their goalies, and those goalies lacrosse gear setups. For this post I dropped in a few links to the save edits in case you want to check out these goalies in action.
To answer a couple common questions –
- Yes, the female goalie post is coming soon.
- Yes, I would also like to know company mesh they’re using but its near impossible to determine in photos.
- Chest pad is also tough to determine in photos. I included a few where I know the goalie well or its peaking out of the jersey in a photo.
- Yes, I would love to cover D2, D3, and MCLA but I can barely keep up with D1.
Let’s get into it! If you see any errors in this post, leave me a comment down below.
2023 NCAA D1 Men’s Lacrosse Goalie Gear Setups
1. Liam Entenmann – Notre Dame
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: Ghost pocket – no shooters
- Gloves: Adrenaline Phoenix Lacrosse Goalie Gloves
Liam Entenmann is a member of Team Unfair Advantage! Strung up by the Sidewall Jedi himself.
The Notre Dame goalie Liam Entenmann was the pre-season 1st All American and has been playing lights out this season.
He got overtaken by Cuse goalie Will Mark in the mid-season All-American ranking but I imagine we see him back on top by the season’s end. Especially if the Irish go on a strong playoff run.
Podcast with Liam Entenmann
2. Will Helm – Duke
Will Helm joined Duke this season as a grad transfer after playing D3 ball for St. Lawrence where was an All-American.
He’s continued his All American ways and is playing very strong for the Duke Blue Devils.
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length (or shorter?) – that’s a cut down STX Outlet.
- Shooters: 2 straight across
- Gloves: Nike Vapor Pro Goalie Gloves
You gotta watch the end of this game:
3. Matt Nunes – Virginia
- Head: Under Armour Command
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 1 Nylon, 1 U, 1 Straight Across
- Gloves: Warrior Nemi QS
Only a sophomore, Matt Nunes continues to anchor the Hoos defense game after game.
Even though Virginia is a Warrior school, Nunes continues to use the Command (with the logo wiped off).
Matt Nunes is a Lax Goalie Rat sponsored athlete meaning you can get some insanely cool lacrosse goalie coaching and mentoring for your youth goalie. Check out the College Goalie Training Packs.
Podcast with Matt Nunes
4. Tim Marcille – Johns Hopkins
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 1 nylon, 1 straight across
- Gloves: STX Cell V
Out of all the goalie battles I was probably most interested in who would win the starting job for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays.
The answer was Tim Marcille and the Great Falls, VA Senior has his team sitting at the #4 seed overall entering the conference tournament.
5. Jack Fracyon – Penn St.
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 2 of the lowest U’s I’ve seen in a while
- Gloves: Maverik Max Goalie Gloves
At the time of this post Jack Fraycon is #3 in the NCAA with a 58.2 save percentage.
One of the reasons Penn St. is currently ranked #5 with impressive wins over Hopkins, Cornell, Yale, Michigan, and Rutgers.
The most noticeable thing about Fraycon’s gear setup is those 2 very low U’s a la John Galloway or Colin Kirst.
6. Chayse Ierlan – Cornell
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 1 straight across, 2 U’s
- Gloves: Nike Vapor Pro Goalie Gloves
After leading the Big Red to the championship game last season, goalie Chayse Ierlan is on a mission to take them all the way.
He was a mid-season 3rd team All-American and currently 6th in the nation at 56.7 save percentage.
Chayse is a Lax Goalie Rat sponsored athlete and put together some awesome lacrosse goalie training for the youth. Proceeds go directly to support Chayse!
Podcast with Chayse Ierlan
7. Brian Ruppel – Maryland
After Logan McNaney went down game #1 the Terps found their answer at goalie with Brian Ruppel.
This tripe save in OT rocked the lacrosse goalie world. Ruppel was IL mid-season All-American honorable mention and while it might be a bit early for that, the dude is a stud in between the pipes.
Podcast with Brian Ruppel
8. Michael Scharfenberger – Georgetown
The Hoyas started out 0-3 before turning the sophomore netminder Scharfenberger to assume the starting duties.
They’ve since won 10 straight including wins over Loyola, Princeton, Villanova, and Denver.
9. Knox Dent – Army
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 2 nylons, 2 U’s
- Gloves: Epoch Integra Pro Goalie Gloves
They call him Fort Knox around Westpoint. He made one of the more impressive saves this season I’ve ever seen.
After chasing out a GB vs. Loyola, he twisted his knee and collapsed in pain. Instead of laying on the ground, he got back up and dove in front of the open net to make a save while losing his lid. What heart!
They show the save at the beginning of this save edit with Knox Dent vs. Cornell:
10. Jack Thompson – Denver
- Head: Warrior Nemesis 3
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 1 nylon, 2 straight across
- Gloves: Warrior Nemesis QS goalie gloves
Denver is a Warrior sponsored school so Pio goalie Jack Thompson is decked out in Warrior gear.
He sticks with the Nemi 3 instead of moving to the new Nemi QS probably because goalies are creatures of habit.
I’ve seen Jack use 20 diamond mesh before but this season he’s switch it over to the 12 diamond.
Podcast with Jack Thompson
Jack is a 2x Lax Goalie Rat sponsored athlete which means we partnered together to create some insanely cool lacrosse goalie training videos for young goalies. If you want coaching and mentoring from the best college athletes, check it out here.
10. Malcolm Kleban – Denver
- Head: Warrior Nemesis 3
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 1 straight across
- Gloves: Warrior Nemesis QS goalie gloves
Malcolm Kleban also gets a lot of playing time for Denver and has assumed the starting role in recent weeks.
He goes with a very similar setup as Jack Thompson.
11. Will Vitton – Villanova
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 2 straight across
- Gloves: Maverik Max Goalie Gloves
Will Vitton has been locking down the pipes for the Villanova Cats ever since his freshman season.
He recently became the most winning goalie in the program’s history.
He has one of the more unique stances you’ll see in the college game and I recently invited him onto the podcast to talk all about it (episode coming soon!).
Here is a Will Vitton save edit from the previous season:
12. Emmett Carroll – Penn
Emmett Carroll has broken onto the scene as one of the Ivy League’s elite goalkeepers, making a name for himself on the national level this season.
He currently ranks third among Ivy goaltenders in save percentage (.541) and saves per game (13.2) and is fourth for GAA (11.2) while also making some pretty stellar saves in the process.
Including this walk off save:
Podcast with Emmett Carroll
13. Matt Kilkeary – Delaware
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 1 U, 1 straight across
- Gloves: Maverik Max Goalie Gloves
After leading the Blue Hens to 1st round of upset of Georgetown in last years NCAA finals tournament, goalie Matt Kilkeary is having another fine season.
Through 13 games the senior has posted a .541 save percentage for enough for 11th best in the league.
Kilkeary has the pretty standard goalie stick setup these days: Eclipse 2, 12 diamond, on an attack shaft.
14. Kyle Mullin – Rutgers
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 2 U’s
- Gloves: Maverik Max Goalie Gloves
- Chest Pad: Unequal Chest Pad
You can recognize that top string anywhere. That’s #teamunfairadvantage, aka strung up by the Sidewall Jedi.
After a solid career at Harvard, Kyle Mullin wasn’t done denying attackers dreams and opted for a grad year at Rutgers for one more go.
Can he take Rutgers back to the championship weekend?
15. Will Mark – Syracuse
- Head: Gait Command Goalie Head
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 2 U’s
- Gloves: Gait Gloves
- Chest Pad: Unequal Chest Pad
Will Mark is hands down my favorite goalie to watch play on this list. Not just because I’ve sponsored him for the last 2 years. Dude is a baller.
He was the Inside Lacrosse mid-season goalie of the year and I think final award will come down to him and Notre Dame Liam Entenmann.
Will makes some insane saves and uses his tall height to cover the goal in ways I haven’t seen other goalies do. Also in working with him he’s an awesome dude and a great goalie coach.
We’re dealing with back to back black hole devices on this list, another beauty strung up by Lars the Sidewall Jedi.
Syracuse is a Gait school and Gait recently purchased the Under Armour Command mold to make their own branded goalie heads.
To get training with Cuse goalie Will Mark, check out his College Goalie Training Pack here.
16. Jared Paquette – Yale
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 1 nylon, 1 straight across
- Gloves: Gait Gloves
Paquette was a members of Team USA’s U21 gold medal team and now is trying to help Yale win an Ivy league title.
He is sitting at 20th in the league with a .523 save percentage but has had some lights out games.
Ever seen a goalie make 4 saves in a row? Including stuffing a single lefty 3 times out of those 4.
Here is a save edit featuring Jared Paquette:
17. Shane Carr – Michigan
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 2U’s, 1 nylon
- Gloves: Maverik Max Goalie Gloves
Shane Carr is another Lax Goalie Rat sponsored athlete and I couldn’t be happier to sponsor such a great young man.
Michigan is fighting for an NCAA tournament playoff birth and may need to win the Big10 championship to make it happen. They’ll need strong goalie play from their netminder.
Checkout the Maverik Max goalie gloves review we did with Shane Carr. These might be the coolest pair of Maverik Max’s out there:
If you want to get training and mentoring directly from Shane, checkout his College Goalie Training Pack with insanely cool video based coaching for your youth goalie.
Podcast with Shane Carr
18. Colin Krieg – North Carolina
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 2 straight across
- Gloves: STX Cell V
Whenever a goalie starts as a freshman it’s easy to lose track of their age. Krieg is only a junior which means we’ll see him again guarding the nets for Carolina next season.
Podcast with Colin Krieg
Last season Quint Kessenich mentioned my podcast with Krieg on ESPN Friday night lacrosse which was a very cool moment to hear:
19. Colin Lenskold – Utah
- Head: STX Eclipse 2
- Mesh: 12 Diamond
- Shaft: Attack Length
- Shooters: 1 U
- Gloves: STX Cell V
Haven’t watched Colin play yet this season at Utah but he’s just a freshman so there will be plenty more opportunities.
20. Michael Gianforcolo – Princeton
After training with Goaliesmith all summer, Princeton goalie Michael Gianforcaro is having an awesome season.
The junior is #2 amongst all goalies with a .591 save percentage and will Princeton will need to lean on him if they want to take down an Ivy league title or another national championship.
Conclusion
There we go. The goalie gear setups for the top 20 ranked teams in 2023 men’s college lacrosse.
Let’s recap the results. We actually had 21 goalies since I listed 2 for Denver.
Head –
- STX Eclipse 2: 14
- ECD Impact: 2
- Warrior Nemi 3: 2
- Nike Prime: 1
- Gait Command: 2
Once again we see the Eclipse 2 market dominance. With the STX Eclipse 3 aka the STX Shadow coming soon, how many of these Eclipse 2 users will make the switch?
Mesh –
Clean sweep for the 12 diamond. It really offers the best of hold and rebound control.
Shaft Length:
- Attack Length: 20
- Goalie Length: 1
Gone are the days when goalies use long shafts. Most college goalies use attack length.
In fact the only one with a slightly longer shaft is Georgetown’s Scharfenberger and that even may be attack length. Not 100% sure.
I recommend attack length for all goalies, NCAA stars and 8 year olds.
That will do it for this season men’s D1 2023 goalie gear post.
As always, if I screwed up anyone’s gear, leave me a comment down below and I’ll fix.
Until next time, Coach Damon
PS – What is your goalie gear setup? Leave me a comment down below!
Hey Coach Damon,
I’ve had so much time on my hands since I couldn’t play this season so I’ve had a chance to watch a lot of lacrosse. Krieg, Marcille, Lenskold, and Gianforcolo use the STX Sci-Ti X shaft (which most goalies at STX sponsored schools use). Mullin, and Kilkeary use the Maverick Hyperlite. Ruppel and Carr are using the Maverick A1 shaft ( Logan McNaney uses it as well). Paquette uses a Gait Ice and Mark uses a Gait GCX 5.2 carbon shaft. Nunes actually uses Warrior Burn field glove with a tapped up thumb and he also used a backwards Warrior Burn XP carbon shaft ( I assume to counter the flex) before it broke and is now using the Warrior EVO QX shaft (which I think he’s played better with).
Chase Irelan also is still using a Nike Vapor shaft, it’s just black and taped up.