BECK AND CALL: Hun School boys’ lacrosse player Jake Beck heads upfield in a game last season. Junior midfielder Beck figures to be an offensive catalyst for the Raiders this spring. Hun, which lost 16-6 to Chatham last Saturday to move to 0-4 under new head coach Joe Donnelly, hosts the Hill School (Pa.) on April 9, plays at Shawnee High on April 12, and then hosts the Westtown School (Pa.) on April 15. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As the third head coach in the last three years for the Hun School boys’ lacrosse team, Joe Donnelly is determined to establish some stability for the program.

“For us, it is about building a culture that is going to last,” said Donnelly. “It has been a lot of initial buy-in for a lot of these kids early on. For us, it is making a point that my goal is to be here for a very, very long time and trying to build something that lasts. It is not necessarily about the wins and the losses, it is about how much we can improve as a team and as a unit and help these kids for after high school.”

Donnelly brings a familiarity with Hun to his new post, having served as an assistant coach for the Raiders under Jim Stagnitta in 2021-22 before spending a year on the men’s lax staff at Kean University and then returning to Hun last spring on the staff of Alex Lopes, now the head coach at Kean.

In taking the helm of the Raiders, Donnelly is focusing on developing all of the players in the program, no matter their level.

“I think it is really just balancing everything; I am very big on that we are a complete program, whether it is varsity or JV and managing where we can spend and maximize all of our time together as a unit,” said Donnelly, who was a three-time Hunterdon County Player of the Year and an All-State selection at Delaware Valley High before playing collegiately at Ursinus College. “Then it is separating when we need to, especially now that we are getting into the season and focusing on our scouting reports and our game plans, making sure that both programs have enough time to develop their own identity as well.”

By the time Donnelly was in college, he had already found an identity as a lacrosse coach.

“I was always coaching in high school, I volunteered with the 7th grade rec program,” said Donnelly. “I coached club when I was in college; I did some goalie training with the coach that recruited me to Ursinus who is now the head coach at the Hill School (Pa.). I do some outside lacrosse stuff for Q4 lacrosse.”

Donnelly’s work with Q4 as director of player development has helped prepare him for getting the most out of his players at Hun.

“I run camps over the summer for the youth and high school training sessions in the offseason,” said Donnelly. “The thing that has always gotten me interested in coaching, the Xs and the Os are great, but I love seeing the lightbulb moment, seeing the hard work and the different coaching points actually click.”

Although Hun is not clicking yet this spring as it has gotten off to a 0-4 start, Donnelly believes he is laying the groundwork for success on the short-term and long-term.

“As we have been working through its, the biggest thing we have been trying to take away from this is resiliency,” said Donnelly, whose team fell 16-6 to Chatham last Saturday in suffering its fourth straight loss this season. “We want to take our lacrosse back to where it was a couple of years ago as a national powerhouse. To do that, we have to compete against the best teams. The biggest thing for myself is remaining positive, sticking with each other, and understanding that we are going to make mistakes. We have a lot of new faces playing this year. For us, it is about what can we do to keep improving and how can we set ourselves up best for maximizing our success towards the end of the season as well.”

Donnelly is looking for big things from a midfield unit that features senior Luke Donahue (3 goals, 2 assists so far in 2025), junior Jake Beck (3 goals), sophomore Anthony Peterson (1 goal. 1 assists), junior Matt Tarditi (2 goals), and junior Devin Skinner (1 goal).

“Luke transitioned to a midfielder for us,” said Donnelly. “Jake has been a strong midfield presence for us. Anthony is in the mix with Matt. Devin is going both ways offensively and defensively.”

On attack, Hun’s top line will feature junior transfer Alex Famiglietti, freshman Connor Mulligan (1 goal), and junior Teddy Klepacki (1 goal).

“It will be Alex who is a new player from Princeton High,” said Donnelly. “Connor is really stepping into his own right now. Teddy has been doing well.”

Senior Jackson O’Brien (1 goal) is spearheading the Raider defensive unit.

“Jack is back, he has taken on a huge, huge leadership role,” said Donnelly. “He has almost been like a secondary coach on the field. He is one of those guys I was able to work with when he was a freshman It has been really exciting to see him take on this leadership role.”

Along with O’Brien, juniors Owen Tallo, Reece Holt, Ryan Wright, and Evan Wijaya (2 goals) give Hun plenty of depth and experience on defense.

“Owen has been awesome,” said Donnelly. “Reece battled some back issues last year so it has been nice to have him back. He has been playing very strong. Ryan is getting in the mix. Evan is running at the longstick middle position.”

The Raiders should be strong at goalie with the pair of sophomore Will Hayes and junior James Stelmak.

“Will has been super strong, he has extremely quick hands, I think he is going to be one of the top goalie recruits in his class,” said Donnelly. “For him, the biggest thing he has been constantly improving on is his vocal leadership on the field. That is something we have been able to see him grow on from the preseason and it has really been helping out with our defense. James is already committed to Sacred Heart. He is getting his time and getting his touches. He is always an opportunity away from stepping in. We feel comfortable with either one of those guys in the cage.”

In Donnelly’s view, Hun can grow into something special by paying attention to detail.

“It is taking care of the little things,” said Donnelly, whose team will look to get on the winning track as it hosts the Hill School (Pa.) on April 9, plays at Shawnee High on April 12, and then hosts the Westtown School (Pa.) on April 15. “We are really detailed in our approach in our game plan and our scouting report. We take pride in our preparation. We haven’t done it yet to get a full 60 minutes but we can see each game getting closer and closer to that point. We have been battling with some injury and some sickness. We have had guys in different rotations pretty much every game his year. Hopefully we will move forward with a little bit more consistency and getting on the winning side of it as well. We have been able to see a lot of growth so far. I couldn’t be more proud.”