At the start of his senior year at Hastings, football/lacrosse standout Luke D'Alessandro and Middlebury College seemed like a done deal.
D'Alessandro was instantly sold on the D-III program and the Vermont college's scenic campus, which is located near some of the avid snowboarder's favorite ski mountains and snow parks.
A top-notch education, the opportunity to prolong his career in both football and lacrosse, as well as a beefed-up financial aid package also intrigued D'Alessandro, the all-time leading scorer in Hastings lacrosse history with 168 goals.
D'Alessandro, who also played running back under Joe Vaccaro at Hastings, passionately wanted to pursue both sports. And so Middlebury made D'Alessandro's decision all the more easier. So he thought...
In the spring, the silky-smooth southpaw's Division-I lacrosse stock heightened.
In the process, D'Alessandro found lacrosse to be his true labor of love. The senior deposited 43 goals, doled out 10 assists, and scooped up 53 groundballs, leading Hastings in nearly every category.
D'Alessandro began receiving interest from Wagner and Siena. Siena coach Brian Brecht, a major local presence who's landed several highly-touted recruits from the Westchester lacrosse landscape, expressed interest in the bullish senior.
Then, at the last minute, Sacred Heart became involved. Though they relied solely on statistics and game video, without traveling to see a Hastings game, the coaching staff at SHU was sold on the overlooked prospect.
Intrigued by the proximity of the school and the chance to play in such a competitive environment, D'Alessandro was deciding between the Fairfield, Conn.-based school and a slew of high-caliber Division-II and Division-III schools.
"I was recruited by some D-3 schools like Connecticut College, Western New England, Middlebury, and a few top two D-2 schools like C.W. Post and Mars Hill," explained D'Alessandro.
"Sacred Heart actually recruited me pretty late in the game. (Coach Tom Mariano) and I spoke via email. I sent some film of myself playing. Then, he sent me a bunch of medical forms to fill out."
Then it was a done deal, as the versatile All-Section attack immediately provided his John Hancock.
By penning with Sacred Heart, D'Alessando becomes Hastings High School's first-ever Division-I lacrosse player.
Playing for the established Renegades on the travel team circuit, heading to northern Westchester to face some stiffer competition in the summer leagues, and battling against kids from the lacrosse hotbed of Long Island helped D'Alessandro skyrocket to small-school success.
This experience allowed D'Alessandro to get a feel for the game and incorporate that wisdom into the burgeoning program at Hastings. From the get-go, Wendol wanted his senior captain to take on some ownership of the Yellow Jackets.
"Luke is a leader out there, he does that on and off the field," said Hastings coach Drew Wendol, a potent scorer at SUNY-Cortland in the early 90s. "He plays in the some elite teams. He doesn't just pick up a lacrosse stick in the spring."
D'Alessandro is a workhorse who bulldozed through double-teams and stuffed the stat books. His innate nose for the net catapulted him into
Westchester's upper-echelon.
While D'Alessandro stuffed the stat sheets, the United States Postal Service stuffed his mailbox with a plethora of packages from NCAA lacrosse coaches.
"He just battles through people," said Wendol. "He's got a strong left, he has a right. He just works hard, he pushes it. If you want him to score, he's going to do whatever it takes to get it done."
Wendol acknowledges the jump from high school to the Division-I ranks is a laborious leap, albeit he believes D'Alessandro has the essential attributes to make an impact on a Pioneers team which graduated four of their top five leading scorers in 2010.
"I think he's going to have to play some midfield there," said Wendol. He's going to have to learn a lot, it's a lot different from high school. As a freshman, he's going to have to learn that it's a different game. He'll be going up against bigger, stronger players and that's where you really have to pick up your game."