Outside of DeLuca's complete discomfort with being interviewed (eye contact is a sin!) the senior keeper has some interesting thoughts about minding the cage for the Dolphins and what Jacksonville may have in store for Division I lacrosse in 2014.
Whether the Dolphins can secure its first invitation to the NCAA Tournament next spring -- via the Atlantic Sun's auto-bid -- turns heavily on how DeLuca performs in the crease. His play for Jacksonville has been an undersold story, a career that has featured him facing tracer fire while managing to survive. He's a cut (or two) below the truly exceptional keepers in the country, but there aren't many goalies in the nation that have played in similar circumstances to what DeLuca has experienced the last two seasons, holding the line as a capable stopper:
| METRIC | 2012 | 2013 |
| Opportunities per 60 Minutes Margin | -1.69 (45) | -0.69 (36) |
| Adjusted Defensive Efficiency | 32.57 (43) | 33.83 (46) |
| Shots per Defensive Opportunity | 1.14 (52) | 1.08 (29) |
| Raw Defensive Shooting Rate | 25.71% (11) | 28.42% (37) |
| Defensive Assist Rate | 15.31 (17) | 17.82 (36) |
| Man-Down Postures per 100 Defensive Opportunities | 11.83 (48) | 12.50 (50) |
| Saves per 100 Defensive Opportunities | 39.44 (4) | 33.56 (32) |
| DeLuca Save Percentage | 57.0% (9) | 55.2% (19) |
That's a lot of exposure -- face-melting exposure -- and responsibility for a ball-stopper, but DeLuca has done a nice job keeping the Dolphins' defense afloat. He remains a primary cog in the machine that Guy Van Arsdale is attempting to build.