Nazareth Favored in Empire 8 Preseason Men's Lacrosse Poll
February 16, 2010
ROCHESTER, NY – Nazareth College, which captured the conference championship last year as the fourth seed in the tournament, is the favorite to capture the Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship again this season, according to the preseason coaches’ poll. The Golden Flyers received seven first-place votes.
Two Empire 8 teams are ranked in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Preseason Poll. Ithaca College is ranked 14th and Nazareth follows at 15th. Stevens Institute of Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology, and St. John Fisher College each received votes.
Nazareth returns three first-team all-conference performers, including junior midfielder Scott Castle, who earned honorable mention USILA All-American honors last season in which he scored 20 goals and totaled 33 points. The Golden Flyers return their entire attack, led by first-team all-conference honoree Marc DeCirce, who led the team with 40 goals. Senior long-stick midfielder Kyle Brown garnered first-team all-conference recognition in 2009.
Senior midfielder Erinn O’Hara and junior defenseman Mitchel Frey of Nazareth were named to the all-conference second team a year ago. Sophomore attack C.J. Estes was selected as Empire 8 Rookie of the Year in his first season, highlighted by totaling two goals, an assist, and five ground balls in the Golden Flyers’ 9-4 victory over St. John Fisher in the title game of the Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship.
Ithaca is the coaches’ choice to finish second and received two first-place votes. The Bombers won 14 of 16 regular season games with four victories over nationally ranked teams, including a road win over then second-ranked Cortland, and earned the top seed in the Empire 8 tournament last season, but were left out of the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship after being upset by Nazareth in overtime in the conference semifinals.
Senior midfielder Nic Heckman was named to the Division III Third Team by Inside Lacrosse after earning honorable mention USILA All-America and first-team all-conference honors last year. He was the Bombers’ top-scoring midfielder and ranked second on the team in goals (28) and points (42) in 2009. Junior goalie David Gal and junior face-off specialist Michael Hennessy were honorable mention All-American selections by the preseason magazine.
Stevens, led by former RIT coach Gene Peluso, was chosen by the coaches to finish third this season. Junior Dave Decker, a two-time Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year, was named the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year and a first-team preseason All-American by Lacrosse Magazine Yearbook after garnering second-team All-American honors from USILA last season. Junior Zach McHugh earned second-team all-conference recognition in 2009 and was tabbed a preseason honorable mention All-American.
St. John Fisher edged RIT for the fourth spot in the coaches’ poll after advancing to the title game of the Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship with a win at second-seeded Stevens in the semifinals. Senior midfielder Jeff Price and junior midfielder Ryan Schmidt return after receiving second-team all-conference recognition last season. Senior attacks Dave Malone and Chris Schmidt earned honorable mention all-conference accolades a year ago.
Rochester Institute of Technology, which tied for fourth place last season, is the coaches’ choice to place fifth this year with Jake Coon taking over the helm. Senior close defender Dan MacRae was named to the all-conference first team and USILA honorable mention All-American team. Senior midfielder Adam Lehmann and junior attack Iric Bressler return after earning second-team all-conference honors.
Hartwick College has been chosen to finish sixth this season in the preseason poll. Senior defenseman Kevin Miller was named to the all-conference second-team a year ago. Junior midfielder Dave Aitchison received honorable mention recognition.
Utica College is the coaches’ preseason choice to finish seventh this year. Senior attack Mike Bulger, a second-team all-conference choice in 2009, led the Pioneers with 55 points (27 goals and 18 assists), second-best in the conference.
Alfred University and Elmira College were picked eighth and ninth, respectively, in the coaches’ poll. The Saxons finished 7-0 out of the conference last season. Elmira played eight games decided by four goals or fewer, including three one-goal contests in 2009.
Empire 8 teams finished with a combined 49-23 record (.681 winning percentage) in non-conference play last season.
2010 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Nazareth College (7 first-place votes) 63 points
2. Ithaca College (2) 56
3. Stevens Institute of Technology 48
4. St. John Fisher College 41
5. Rochester Institute of Technology 40
6. Hartwick College 29
7. Utica College 24
8. Alfred University 15
9. Elmira College 8