Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/21/09
From Press Releases
The University of Delaware has been picked No. 23 and Drexel is No. 25 in the 2010 Pre-Season Rock-it Pocket LAXNews.com men’s lacrosse poll announced by the website.
The Blue Hens, looking to improve upon last season’s 5-10 overall mark, were one of four Colonial Athletic Association squads in the Top 25 and were the highest ranked team coming off a sub .500 record.
Defending national champion Syracuse, which went 16-2 last spring to capture the title, is the pre-season No. 1 and is followed by Duke, Virginia, North Carolina, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Notre Dame, Hofstra, Navy, and Maryland in the Top 10.
Princeton – coached by former Drexel coach Chris bates – was at No. 11 followed by Harvard, Georgetown, Loyola, Albany, Brown, UMBC, Massachusetts, Colgate, Bucknell, Ohio State, Stony Brook, Delaware, Denver, and Drexel.
Drexel is now coached by Brian Voelker, who left Penn to take the position practically across the street in Southwest Philly.
The Delaware Blue Hens, led by 32nd-year head coach Bob Shillinglaw, will face eighth teams in the pre-season Top 25 as Delaware will take on No. 5 Johns Hopkins on Feb. 23, No. 8 and defending CAA champion Hofstra on Apr. 10, No. 13 Georgetown on Mar. 17, No. 15 Albany on Mar. 6, No. 17 UMBC on Feb. 20, No. 18 Massachusetts on Apr. 17, No. 22 Stony Brook on Mar. 13, and No. 25 Drexel on Apr. 24.
Delaware, just two years removed from its 2007 run to the NCAA national semifinals, returns a solid nucleus this spring led by All-American forward Curtis Dickson and All-CAA standouts Martin Cahill, Pat Dowling, Kevin Kaminski (Strath Haven), and Tommy Lee.
Dickson, a two-time All-CAA attackman, is the Hens’ leading returning scorer after tallying 33 goals and 12 assists while Cahill tallied 20 goals and Kaminski recorded 15 markers last season. Dowling, who posted 22 caused turnovers in 2009, is among the CAA’s top defenders while Lee is among the top faceoff specialists, having won 60 percent of his attempts a year ago.
Delaware will open the 2010 season Feb. 6 at Saint Joseph’s with the home opener set for Feb. 13 against Presbyterian.
2010 LAXnews Rock-it Pocket Preseason Rankings
1. Syracuse (16-2)
2. Duke (15-4)
3. Virginia (15-3)
4. North Carolina (12-6)
5. Johns Hopkins (10-5)
6. Cornell (13-4)
7. Notre Dame (15-1)
8. Hofstra (11-4)
9. Navy (11-5)
10. Maryland (10-6)
11. Princeton (13-3)
12. Harvard (8-5)
13. Georgetown (7-7)
14. Loyola (9-5)
15. Albany (7-7)
16. Brown (12-3)
17. UMBC (12-4)
18. UMass (9-6)
19. Colgate (9-6)
20. Bucknell (9-7)
21. Ohio State (8-8)
22. Stony Brook (9-6)
23. Delaware (5-10)
24. Denver (7-8)
25. Drexel (7-8)
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