University of Delaware Athletics
Women's 50th Profile: Laurie Tortorelli DeLuca ('02)
4/30/2020 1:00:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse, 50 Years of Women's Athletics
When reflecting on the meaning of being a part of the 50 years of women's athletics at the University of Delaware, one of the all-time greats supplied this quote by Isaac Newton, "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants."
"I love this quote and feel it's applicable here. There are countless female pioneers that have laid the foundation and worked tirelessly to create and build upon what we now know as women's athletics. We have powerful female athletic directors; professional and Olympic athletes endorsing brands; female college athletic contests broadcast on ESPN, etc.," Laurie Tortorelli DeLuca said.
DeLuca, a 2002 graduate, is now back at UD in a different role: wife, mother and coach.
The former All-American for the Blue Hens as a goalie for the women's lacrosse team returned to Newark in 2017 when her husband Ben was named the head coach of the Blue Hens men's lacrosse team.
"At first it felt surreal, and that feeling remains with me to this day. It is incredibly special for me to be back here with my family. When Ben received the video call from Chrissi Rawak to discuss becoming the next Head Coach for the Men's Lacrosse Program, I was wearing my Delaware practice pinnie for good luck. When she made her offer, I immediately burst into tears of joy. We are so happy to be a part of this wonderful Delaware Athletics community. I'm so proud to be back. We feel sincerely grateful and truly blessed," Tortorelli DeLuca said.
Growing up less than an hour from University of Delaware's campus, she had always been involved in summer camps, so upon her graduation from Haverford High School, Tortorelli had built strong relationships with then head coach Denise Wescott and knew UD was where she wanted to be.
"I followed Delaware's season very closely my senior year of high school as Carey Sebastian Gillis, Liza Shoemaker Kelly and Christy Buck were tearing it up for the Blue Hens! I wanted to play for a winning program. I came from a very successful high school program at Haverford High School so my expectation was similar for college. I wanted to compete with and against the best in the country," Tortorelli DeLuca said. "And when you add in this type of university community, as soon as I stepped onto the beautiful campus I knew UD was where I wanted to be!"
From the time she stepped on campus, she worked to earn the starting role, a spot she would hold for the next four seasons.
"It was challenging on many levels. The game was much faster at the college level compared to high school. I knew I had to work extremely hard to beat out two upperclassmen goalies and earn the starting role. I worked tirelessly spending a great deal of time at the Field House and on Rullo honing my craft. I was also fortunate that I came to UD with my best friend and teammate from Haverford High School, Ashley Moderacki Truskey. We roomed together all four years which made the transition even easier," she said.
During her four years in the Blue & Gold, she was a three-time All-Region selection, an IWLCA All-American and first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American. She was the conference rookie of the year in 1999 and still ranks second all-time in program history in saves (754), third in minutes played (3767), fifth in goals against average (9.43) and fifth in save percentage (.560). She was a part of 37 wins, two NCAA Tournaments and one America East Championship (1999).
The reason for her success? That goes back to her youth days.
"My father instilled that mentality, work ethic and competitive spirit in me and my two younger siblings. My hatred of losing supersedes my love of winning" she said. "I was never the most gifted athlete, but I was always willing to put in the work. I was committed to become better in every facet of the goalie position and had a vision of what I wanted to accomplish. Mental toughness and a disciplined mindset helped me navigate adversity and stay the course. I wanted to be my best to give my teammates and this program the best chance to win. I have always been super-competitive on the athletic field."
Since graduation, she's spent time as a college assistant as well as being highly active in youth programs in many locations, including back in Delaware, where she's coaching hundreds of girls, including her two daughters, Elizabeth (11) and Anne (9).
"I hope my two daughters experience the same joy and excitement I felt when I stepped onto any field or court. I hope the competitive environment of athletics serves as a living classroom for them, a place where they learn crucial life lessons about work ethic, commitment, sacrifice, selflessness and how to be a great teammate," she said. "I hope they get to experience the thrill of victory with their teammates after a huge win, and also learn to deal with failure and other forms of adversity in a mature, disciplined fashion. I hope they learn to compete with teammates that might become lifelong friends, and forge bonds that last a long time after the game is over. I hope their experiences force them outside of their respective comfort zones and inspire them both to someday share the lessons they learned with the next generation."
