RIT selected as unanimous preseason favorite in Liberty League men’s lacrosse
The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) men’s lacrosse team has been selected as the unanimous Liberty League preseason favorite for the 2016 season in a poll conducted by the league’s eight head coaches. The Tigers, who are third in the 2016 USILA Division III preseason national poll, ended last season with an unblemished regular season record en route to capturing their fourth straight league championship and making their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA semifinals.
RIT received seven first-place votes for 49 points (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team). Union (42) took second place with St. Lawrence (36) and RPI (33) rounding out the top four. The Saints and Engineers were followed by Clarkson (24), Skidmore (18), Vassar (13) and Bard (9).
Despite the departure of four USILA All-Americans, the Tigers have a seasoned stable of players returning to Rochester. They will look to 2015 Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year junior Ryan Lee and 2015 Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year senior Matt Hossack to lead the team. Lee piloted the offense last season with a team-high 98 points on 60 goals and 38 assists while Hossack paced the Tigers with 52 caused turnovers and 122 ground balls. Senior Jay Krzyston and junior Pat Hannigan will be charged with anchoring the defense after starting 20 games apiece last season.
Union, ranked 12
th in the USILA preseason poll, had another successful campaign in 2015, reaching the Liberty League championship for the second straight year. The Dutchmen also made their fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament by virtue of an at-large bid before falling to RIT in the second round. Union returns three of their top-five scorers in 2016—junior Peter Richardson, senior Nolan Stauffer and junior Paul Alberti. The trio combined for 64 goals and 61 assists last season. The Dutchmen will have big shoes to fill with the graduation of USILA All-America goalkeeper Stefan Basile, however, sophomore Sam Bebout (12 games), senior Samuel Broda (5 games) and sophomore Cole Gendels (4 games) all spent some time in net last season, which should bode well in 2016.
St. Lawrence was 9-8 last season with a 5-2 Liberty League record as the Saints qualified for the league tournament as the third seed. St. Lawrence was a young team with 25 underclassmen and a year of experience should translate well on the field as they open 2016 with seven returning starters. Three of those starters are the Saints’ offensive leaders from a year ago in junior Connor Healey (31 G, 39 A), senior Jeremy Vautour (30 G, 20 A) and senior Charlie Duprey (18 G, 9 A). Defensively, the Saints welcome back senior Jack Roberts who led the team in caused turnovers (31) and junior Alec Dietsch who scooped up a team-best 58 ground balls.
A trio of All-Liberty League second-team selections—juniors Breanainn McNeally and Jake Weidner as well as senior John Phillips—and the 2015 Co-Rookie of the Year, Matthew Gilman, headline seven returning starters for RPI after posting a 10-5 overall mark and going 4-3 in conference play in 2015. The Engineers are receiving votes in the USILA preseason poll after leading the nation in man-down defense last season, allowing just three goals in 42 opportunities (92.9%). McNeally led the team in scoring last season with a team-high 35 goals and he dished out nine assists for 44 points. Gilman and Weidner were also among the team’s top scorers, combining for 34 goals and 20 assists. Phillips was second on the team in ground balls (50) and he recorded 10 caused turnovers.
Clarkson went 7-8 last season, including a 4-2 conference record as the Golden Knights reached the Liberty League tournament for the fourth time in five years. Clarkson welcomes back seven starters, including junior goalkeeper Nick Strandholm, who played in all 15 games for the Golden Knights in 2015. Strandholm was one of the league’s top goalies with an 8.86 goals against average and a .563 save percentage. He is joined in the backfield by senior Keith Mierzwa and junior Justin Gibson to anchor the defensive corps. Offensively, leading scorer junior Ryan St. Croix is back after scoring 30 goals and handing out 10 assists last season. Junior Ryan DaRin (16 G, 9 A) and sophomore Sam Groves (11 G, 4 A) also return to bolster the offense.
Skidmore finished 2015 with a 5-10 overall record and it will be a rebuilding year for the Thoroughbreds as only four starters return. However, four of the team’s top-five scorers are back, including sophomore Brendan Halloran (14 G, 11 A) and junior Kevin Mulvey (17 G, 4 A), who were ranked second and third on the team in scoring. Sophomore Chris Baughan returns after spending the majority of last season in net for Skidmore, finishing 2015 with a 10.07 goals against average and a .543 save percentage. Tucker Kear begins his tenure as Skidmore’s head coach and he is no stranger to the Liberty League with previous coaching stints at Union (assistant coach) and Bard (head coach).
With only four players lost to graduation and seven returning starters, Vassar is expected to have an experienced lineup to open 2016 to improve upon a 6-9 overall record. The Brewers top-three scorers return to Poughkeepsie— senior Noah Parson, junior Liam Moriarty and junior Sam Houston-Read. Parson and Moriarty were All-Liberty League honorable mention selections, as the duo combined for 87 points on 64 goals and 23 assists. Houston-Read also contributed to the offense netting 18 goals and recording 18 assists for 36 points. Junior defender Eric Prezioso and junior attack Chris Billups are also key returnees for Vassar.
Bard will again be a young squad with only one senior on its roster in the team’s second year of Liberty League competition. Junior John Henry Glasscock will be in net for the Raptors after leading the league in saves per game (14.29) and total saves (200) last season. He also had a team-high 54 ground balls and he will be joined in the backfield by senior Sam Funnell. 2015 Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Year, John Palermo returns to lead the Raptors offense after tallying a team-high 23 goals and 10 assists for 33 points, last year.
2016 Liberty League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
Place, Team, Points
1. RIT, 49 (7)
2. Union, 42 (1)
3. St. Lawrence, 36
4. RPI, 33
5. Clarkson, 24
6. Skidmore, 18
7. Vassar, 13
8. Bard, 9
(
First-place votes are in parentheses)