By Patrick Hood
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/16/24
It runs in the family.
Pennridge High School graduate Nicholas Fanelli, an All-American graduate attackman at Eastern University, is the second-oldest of six brothers, all of whom play lacrosse. His older brother, Kyle, played at Eastern from 2017-2021, and Christopher, the third-oldest, is currently a standout junior on the team. Frankie, the fourth-oldest, is a senior at Pennridge and is committed to Eastern for the Fall 2024 semester.
Nicholas said that the brothers have established a strong work ethic to push each other, starting with Kyle.
“Kyle is the older one, and he’s instilled a work ethic in me that I think has helped me succeed till this day, and I’m just trying to return the favor to Christopher,” said Nicholas. “I know Christopher had a huge impact on why Frankie is going to come up.”
Kyle had a big impact on Nicholas, as evidenced by his success at Eastern.
Last year, Nicholas Fanelli became the first Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) player in history to reach 50 goals and 50 assists in a season, helping him earn USILA All-America Honorable Mention and a nod this year as a Preseason All-American. He has 266 points on 152 goals and 114 assists in 55 career games. He’ll be the key to Eastern’s hopes of competing for an MAC Commonwealth title as the Eagles prepare for Saturday’s opener at Washington College under interim head coach Colin Piper.
The Fanelli family was initially drawn to Eastern by its proximity to their Perkasie home, which made it easy for them to travel to each game.
“Well, it’s definitely location [based] for us. It’s about 45 minutes away,” said Nicholas, who had 52 goals and 50 assists and a career-high 20 caused turnovers last year for the Eagles (9-9 overall, 6-2 in MAC). “So, allowing our parents to be able to watch us was a huge part. They were at every single event so trying to have them at every game is important. Obviously, with six boys, they’re already all over the place. So having a good location, the coaches here, and the players on the team attracted us.
“They are great guys, great coaches, and being able to follow in Kyle’s footsteps, and just hearing about the experience that he had and the culture that they’re building made me want to be a part of that and jump right in. And I think Kyle was a huge huge part of that, seeing him go here and have so much fun and succeed.”
More on our interview with Nicholas Fanelli:
Question: What are your expectations for this season?
Fanelli: Obviously going into the season, you have the goal [of] winning the conference championship and being able to get into the NCAA tournament. As far as just team goals, continuing the culture that we already have built here at Eastern and just continuing to try to get closer as a team to help us succeed on and off the field.
Question: So tell me a little bit about this team culture that you have built? What are some of the pillars of that culture?
Fanelli: Yeah, I believe a key cultural pillar that we have is just putting our head down here and working, not asking any questions sometimes, and getting the job done, whatever that takes. I think we have a gritty group, and with a new coach here, we’re just going to continue that culture of putting our head down, working hard and just trying to get the job done.
Question: Nice. So what are some of your career goals [inside and outside] of lacrosse?
Fanelli: Well, as far as outside of lacrosse – unfortunately, lacrosse has to come to an end eventually. But I’m actually an education major, so the plan is to be an elementary school teacher one day. I’m doing my master’s right now in leadership. So maybe way down the road, maybe a principal or superintendent, maybe I’ll go that route. So as far as a career goal, that’s definitely up there. Then as far as lacrosse [goes], it’s just, I recognize that as a fifth-year, my time is limited on the field and I’m blessed to have another year. So I’m just really trying to live in the moment, build relationships with teammates, and just try to help out as much as I can.
Question: So what does it mean to you to have been able to play with not just one, but now two of your brothers during your time at Eastern?
Fanelli: Yeah, it’s a very, very unique situation, obviously, and I never take it for granted. And that was one of the major reasons that I chose Eastern, knowing that I would have been able to play with my brother (Christopher had 42 goals and 25 assists last year), and potentially two [of them]. I did it in high school, and I loved it. I’m sure Coach Piper can tell you we do everything together, whether that’s on the field or off the field where working out together, we’re getting meals together. So I feel like that chemistry has definitely helped us and [that] correlates on the field. I love it.
Question: So now for the coach here, what does it mean to have Nicholas’s veteran presence here as a fifth year player?
Coach Piper: Yeah, having a player like Nicholas, who’s just cool and relaxed, he’s modest and it is quite helpful. But he brings a calming presence where guys can know it’s like they can have that trust in that relationship. He’s been around a lot of those guys and instills a lot of confidence in his teammates, and has really brought a calming presence to our office.
Question: So, Nicholas, did you consider potentially playing for a Division I school for your fifth year?
Fanelli: Honestly, no. I knew that this is where I wanted to come back. I was super excited once Coach Piper got the job [as Interim Head Coach following Brian Wallace’s decision to step down], I was excited to get started and continue the process of what we’re trying to build here at Eastern, and like I said, it really goes back to just the culture and my experience here at Eastern. I’ve enjoyed my time here, and with my brother here already, I just wanted to continue that. And I just knew that using this fifth year, I definitely wanted to come back to Eastern.
Question: What advice would you give to an aspiring college lacrosse player?
Fanelli: Definitely take it all in for sure. You know, live in the moment. Something that I always like to remind myself, is to just have fun and smile. I think that’s super important, because if you’re not having fun, then you’re not doing it right. My freshman year was [impacted by] COVID, and you can clearly see how quickly something could happen, whether it’s an injury or a pandemic, so it can kinda go away quickly. You only really get to play college sports for so long, so just enjoy it while you’re there.
Question: Would you consider possibly going into coaching after this year?
Fanelli: Yeah, I would. I would love to go into coaching eventually down the road. I don’t know what that looks like for me right now, trying to be a teacher; where I’d be located and job-wise. But yeah, I would. I would definitely love to coach, stay around the sport as long as I can, for sure. I love the sport, so being able to coach would definitely be a goal of mine.