At times, DeSales head coach Matthew Brancaccio thanks his lucky stars that Frank Krug ended up playing for the Bulldogs.

“The coaching staff goes home and prays every night that he walks through our doors,” Brancaccio said with a laugh.

That’s because Krug, a junior long-stick midfielder and captain, wasn’t supposed to play college lacrosse. He wasn’t recruited much out of high school, and planned to attend DeSales for its medical program. Krug spent his first three years playing junior varsity at LaSalle (Pa.) and largely accepted his senior year would mark the last hurrah.

“I wasn't sure I wanted to keep playing anymore” Krug said. “And even when I came here I wasn't sure.”

A walk-on who was quickly offered a spot on the varsity roster, the Bulldogs are sure glad Krug kept his passion for lacrosse alive. Through mid-March, the Perkasie, Pa., native leads all of college lacrosse — regardless of division, men’s or women’s — in caused turnovers per game with 5.09.

Simply put, Krug is a force in the transition game and with breaking up play. Through 42 career games, he has 164 caused turnovers and 233 ground balls.

The former MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year, who also played hockey and football growing up, simply loves defense.

“The term defense wins championships, I've always been drawn to that,” Krug said. “In other sports like football, I love playing defense. My coach when I was in eighth grade ... he put a long pole in my hands and I loved it. You can determine and disrupt the pace of play and then pick the ball up, almost becoming that little kid again who creates offense. That drew me to it. Not everyone can be a scorer, though. If you can find your role and be good in it, that's good enough for me.”

As for Brancaccio, he’s designed DeSales’ ride to get the most out of the Krug. They put him at the point, funnel play to the middle and let their All-American hopeful get to work.

“We try to force everything into him,” Brancaccio said. “Then it’s just let Frank be Frank.”

Now, DeSales might not have the national reputation that some other Division III programs does, but it’s no slouch. The Bulldogs are 12-0 with four regular-season games remaining, though will likely need an automatic qualifier via the MAC Freedom to get into the NCAA tournament.

This state of affairs is even more remarkable considering DeSales has never finished above .500 and went 5-10 last year. Their on-field captain and star is well aware of that fact — and he’s dead set on changing it.

“Most importantly, we're hungry and haven't proven anything yet,” Krug said. “It's still out there for us to take, and we're going to. We're confident.”

Santilli Anchoring Union Defense

In recent years, Union is no stranger to having some talented goalkeepers call Schenectady, N.Y., home. Stefan Basile was a second-team All-American in 2015 and Sean Aaron was a first-team All-American in 2012.

Another one could be in the works, especially based off a lofty proclamation by coach Paul Wehrum after a 14-10 victory over Ithaca on April 6. Look no further than senior Jack Santilli, who’s enjoying his biggest spotlight as a senior.

“I told them, we're going to go as far as Jack Santilli carries us this year,” Wehrum said.

The Hingham, Mass., native is top 10 nationally in goals-against average (6.10) and save percentage (.647), benefiting from what Wehrum called the best defense he’s ever coached at Union.

Those pieces are a major driver behind the Dutchmen’s 9-1 record heading into a critical Liberty League game at St. Lawrence on Saturday. They’ll again need Cool Hand Jack to step up, Wehrum said.

“I've learned over the years with coaching that in order for a goalie to play well in the cold, you have to be the man,” he said. “You can't be nervous, you can't be looking over your shoulder if you give up a goal or two, or you make a bad pass. You have to feel it's your position, that the coach has faith in you.”

Asked more about that faith factor, Wehrum pointed to how Union, at the behest of senior leadership, asked to stay local for their spring break. In years past, this Dutchmen senior class took trips to Florida, California and Virginia — wanting to escape a hectic academic schedule and enjoy warmer weather.

In 2019, they asked for a high-level game at the Carrier Dome, and they got exactly that with a 14-10 win over NESCAC foe Middlebury.

“That decision paid off, it really did,” Wehrum said.

Now Union, a team that thrives on team defense and balanced scoring, is hoping to make its first NCAA tournament since 2015.

The most straightforward path to doing that comes via earning an automatic qualifier in the Liberty League. But RIT has won every conference tournament since 2012, an unavoidable fact in upstate New York. The league race looks even tighter with RPI and St. Lawrence playing strong.

Thus, it’s the cliché, but accurate, approach of one game at a time for the Dutchmen.

“I've been at this for a while now and I know that the only game that matters is the next game,” Wehrum said. “It's almost forbidden to even mention anyone else other than St. Lawrence now. If you look pass somebody, you could easily get smacked down.”

Bates' Star

Earlier this season, Bates coach Peter Lasagna made no secret of it: He’s glad that junior attackman Matt Chlastawa got little Division I attention during the recruiting process, and instead found his way to the NESCAC program.

Already an All-American, Chlastawa is playing at quite the pace. He has 6.09 points per game and could easily reach the 100-point mark if Bates makes another postseason run like it did in 2017.

St. John Fischer Gearing Up for Stevens

The Empire 8 has been dominated by Stevens as of late, but don’t go sleeping on St. John Fischer. They have the second-best scoring margin (10.45) in Division III, trailing just national powerhouse Salisbury.

The two programs clash April 20 in Hoboken, N.J., in what should be quite the heavyweight battle.