Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/15/13
From Press Release

Defending National Champion Dowling College has been tabbed as the 2013 preseason favorite while Chestnut Hill college was picked fourth in East Coast Conference men’s lacrosse.

New York Institute of Technology teammates, sophomore Luke Miller (Mastic, N.Y.) and junior Danny McDermott (Vancouver, B.C.), have been named the Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.

Dowling took six of eight first place votes to take the top spot in the preseason poll. The Golden Lions won a program record 13 games in 2012 and won the first National Championship in program history with an 11-10 victory over Limestone. Dowling will attempt to repeat with five starters and 25 players back from last year’s record-setting squad.

NYIT and LIU Post each split the final two first place votes to come in second and third respectively.

Miller, the reigning ECC Rookie of the Year, is the coaches’ pick as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Despite missing the last four games of the season due to injury, Miller still ranked among the top point scorers in the ECC. In 12 games, he racked up 44 points to rank eighth in the conference. Miller dished off 27 assists to come in third in the conference and also scored 17 goals

McDermott makes it a sweep for NYIT in the preseason honors, earning the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year award. In 2012 McDermott was a First Team All-Conference and also a USILA First Team All-American. A shut-down defender, McDermott scooped up 29 ground balls and finished fifth in the conference forcing 28 turnovers.

2013 East Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll
Team Pts.
1. Dowling (6) 62
2. NYIT (1) 53
3. LIU Post (1) 46
4. Chestnut Hill 42
5. Molloy 34
6. Mercy 27
7. Roberts Wesleyan 14
8. Dominican 10

( ) – first place votes

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Luke Miller, So., ATT., NYIT
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Danny McDermott, Jr., D, NYIT