Know your poles. Stay home, patience. Stick on the ground. Good solid clears. These words, said to junior goalie Delaney Galvin before every game by her mom are the important words she hears before she takes the field. Well that, and the “whoop, whoop” that she makes at Delaney to signal her presence at every game.
Delaney’s mom has made the “whoop, whoop” for 37 straight games, with Delaney starting between the pipes for the Marist women’s lacrosse team every game in her Marist career. Impressive, considering she missed fall ball of her freshman season due to a Lisfranc injury on her right foot. “We were doing a run test and I made a cut and felt a pop,” said Galvin. The injury, which is torn ligaments in the midfoot, required surgery. After being on crutches for two weeks and a boot for two months, Galvin began rehabbing the foot to be ready for the first practice that spring. Not only did she return for the first practice, but she felt right back at home between the pipes. “Once I was fully healthy in January, I had confidence and felt like I didn’t miss a beat,” said Galvin. The real turning point came after her first scrimmage against Colgate, “I felt like I played well, I wasn’t over thinking things and I was just playing naturally” she explained.
That natural play led to instant success in the 2018 season. She led the Red Foxes to victories in her first two games, including a 14 save game against Army in the season opener. Her most dominant game came in her third game against #24 UMASS. Despite losing 19-10, Galvin made a career-high 22 saves against a nationally ranked opponent. “I was upset I didn’t do more, I had a lot of saves but if we don’t win it doesn’t matter,” said Galvin.
Her fantastic play would carry over to MAAC conference play where she would receive nearly every award a goalkeeper could imagine. She was able to capture MAAC Defensive Player of the Week three times on her to being named All-MAAC First Team Goalkeeper, All-MAAC Rookie Team and MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year. Despite her success and a regular season that consisted of 10 wins, the 2018 MAAC tournament, hosted by Marist, saw the Red Foxes fall in the semifinals to Canisius College. They eventually watched a airfield University celebrated a championship on their home field and sat motivated for next season.
As her sophomore year rolled around expectations were sky-high for Delaney after having a complete off-season to train and prepare. Yet in 2019, Galvin and the Red Foxes took a step back, falling from a 10-7 record to an 8-10 record. They were especially hampered by a 3-5 non-conference record. Personally, Galvin no longer received the awards and felt her play had taken a step back. “I think team’s starting scouting me a bit more, knowing my strengths and weaknesses, and I started to overthink things a bit,” she admitted. Despite the slow start, Marist was again in position again in position to compete for a MAAC championship as the tournament began. After defeating Manhattan 15-14 in the quarterfinals, they fell in the semifinals again, this time to eventual champion and number-one seed Fairfield.
Delaney let her self-described “sophomore slump” and back-to-back semi-final defeats as motivation as she prepared for her junior season. “I think I hit the reset button and used any doubt to fuel my focus on my own game and improving,” said Galvin. As she continued to make strides through fall ball she maintained her upbeat and infectious attitude that makes so many of her teammates bond with her, “She is always smiling and laughing and when you are in the room with her you can’t help but smile,” said junior teammate Romy Villemure. As the 2020 season opened, the team has started off to an 0-2 start, with loss to Colgate and Army. While this could be discouraging, Galvin continues to look at the positives. “I think in the Army game I got back to a freshman year mindset where I didn’t think and just played. All I kept in my head was: Know your poles. Stay home, patience. Stick on the ground. Good solid clears.”
Edited by Karl Grant Jr