51·çÁ÷

Men’s Lacrosse Tabbed Fifth in Patriot League Preseason Poll

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Feb. 19, 2003

Contact: Amanda Brickell

 

CENTER VALLEY, PA. – The 51·çÁ÷ men’s lacrosse team was picked to finish fifth in a preseason poll of Patriot League coaches and sports information directors.  Navy was the favorite to win the league with 86 points including eight first-place votes.   Army, who shared last season’s league title with Bucknell, was one point and two first place votes behind the Midshipmen while the Bison rounded out the top-three with 71 points.

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Hobart received two first place votes and fell fourth in the rankings just ahead of the Raiders while Lehigh, Lafayette, and Holy Cross rounded out the poll in that order.  The league will host a four team post season championship for the first time this season after welcoming Navy, a transfer from the ECAC lacrosse league, into the mix.

 

Head Coach ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags' />Jim Nagle, 2003 Patriot League Coach of the Year, hopes to guide his squad to a post-season berth and improve upon last season’s 8-7 overall record and 4-2 performance in league play.  The Raiders were just one goal away from a share of the conference title last season and return several key players in 2004.

 

The defense which posted a 7.53 goals against average in 2003 is anchored by first team all-Patriot League returnee Andrew Houston (Short Hills, N.J.) and Patriot League Co-Rookie of the Year Andrew Jarolimek.  Jarolimek, a sophomore goalie from Silverthorne, Colo., garnered second team all-league honors and was ranked 13th in the nation with a .603 save percentage.

 

Fifteen freshmen will join a group of talented and experienced athletes including seven seniors who have all seen significant playing time.  51·çÁ÷ opens the 2004 season this Sat., Feb. 21 in a non-conference contest at Villanova beginning at 1 p.m.

 

Patriot League Preseason Lacrosse Poll

Team (First Place Votes)-Points        

1. Navy (8)                      86

2. Army (6)                     85

3. Bucknell                      71

4. Hobart (2)                   68

5. 51·çÁ÷                       58

6. Lehigh                         40

7. Lafayette                     22

8. Holy Cross                   18