Son of legendary Long Island high school football coach Tom Cassese, Kevin was one of the nation’s top high school recruits who had his choice of college destination, and sport.
In the end, Cassese chose an ACC program in Duke that, at the time, wasn’t the established program it is today. When Cassese committed to Duke, the Blue Devils had reached one final four (1997). Since then, they have advanced to 10.
“Without question, Kevin is a pioneer,” said Pressler. “He came to Duke when it wasn’t necessarily fashionable. He was an Ivy student who could have gone to any Ivy League or ACC school.
“Kevin chose Duke to give the young head coach (me) a chance,” Pressler continued. “The sense of loyalty between us is second to none.”
That loyalty paid off. A defensive midfielder as a freshman, Cassese never took anything for granted. He saw Dan Chemotti staying after practice for extra work, so he did the same.
“We would do a drill where we would dump the bucket of balls at the top of the box, pick up a ball, dodge down the ally, shoot on the run, run around the crease, etcetera. It was shooting and conditioning at the same time, one right after another,” said Chemotti, who was a sophomore when Cassese was a freshman.
PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER
Now the head coach at Richmond, Chemotti helped instill the value of extra work into Cassese, who went on to be named the ACC player of the year as a sophomore. A three-time All-American, Cassese was Duke’s first-ever Tewaaraton Award finalist, in 2002 and 2003, while being named the Lt. Donald MacLaughlin National Midfielder of the Year in 2002.
“Kevin’s combination of athleticism, competitive nature and the ability to do so many things well made Kevin distinct,” said Wray. “He was one of the top faceoff guys in the country. When he didn’t face off, he took the wings and played both man-up and man-down. At a time when everyone else was specializing, Kevin Cassese was a do-it-all midfielder that you just don’t see anymore.”
Cassese has done it all within the lacrosse world. He played for Team USA in 2002, 2006 and 2010, being voted captain in 2010 as the red, white and blue took home gold at the World Championships. Cassese was an assistant for the U.S. in 2014. He just finished his 11th season as head coach at Lehigh, where he has helped the Mountain Hawks advance to the NCAA tournament twice, including the first trip in program history.
Cassese’s competitive fire as a player, and now coach, fuels him while simultaneously rubbing off on everyone around him.
“You would be hard-pressed to find anybody more competitive than Kevin,” said Chemotti. “There were many times he literally put us on his back. Whether we needed a faceoff win, a big goal scored, a ground ball or some leadership, he was not afraid to be that guy.”
“From the freshman walk-on to his fellow All-American, Kevin knew how to bring people together,” said Pressler. “I believe leadership separates Kevin from some of the greatest players who have ever been inducted to the Hall of Fame.”