Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/31/10
From Press Releases and Staff Reports
Hofstra, which finished last season with an unblemished league mark of 6-0, is picked to win the 2010 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Lacrosse Championship according to a vote conducted by all six league coaches.
The Pride, which picked up five of the possible six first-place votes, edged out second-place Massachusetts in the poll. The Minutemen, along with Penn State, will be CAA Men’s Lacrosse newcomers following a league realignment prior to the 2010 season. The league’s coaches also selected Hofstra junior attacker Jay Card as the CAA’s Preseason Player of the Year.
Hofstra, already ranked No. 10 in the Inside Lacrosse/Faceoff Yearbook preseason poll and picked as the league favorites in the same publication, finished four points in front of CAA-newcomer Massachusetts. The Minutemen, shown at No. 18 in the Faceoff Yearbook, logged one first-place vote and finished with a total of 21 points. Delaware comes in at No. 3 in coaches poll, while Towson was picked to finish fourth. Penn State, ranked No. 23 by Inside Lacrosse, picked up nine points to come in at No. 5 in the coaches poll. Drexel, which is ranked No. 24 in the preseason by Inside Lacrosse and will be led by new head coach and former Penn mentor Brian Voelker, rounded out the preseason league poll.
Card, the league’s Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2009, was among those listed as a Preseason Honorable Mention All-America by Inside Lacrosse. Delaware’s Curtis Dickson and Drexel’s Colin Ambler (Abington) join Card at the attack position. Dickson, another Honorable Mention Preseason All-America pick in 2010, is just 14 goals away from becoming the league’s all-time leading goal scorer. Ambler, a Preseason All-CAA pick by Inside Lacrosse, notched 21 goals and 16 assists in 2009 for the Dragons.
Delaware’s Martin Cahill and Towson’s Will Harrington are two more 2009 all-conference performers on this season’s CAA Preseason squad. Cahill leads a Blue Hens midfield unit which Inside Lacrosse recognizes as one of the best in the country. Harrington, an Honorable Mention Preseason All-American, is the lone Towson representative on the CAA Preseason team after scoring 23 goals for the Tigers in 2009. Massachusetts’ Bob Hayes, a Second Team All-ECAC selection in 2009, scored 26 points last season and led his squad in assists (14) from the midfield position. Penn State’s Chris Hogan was a First Team All-ECAC selection in 2009 and a 2010 Preseason Second Team All-America midfielder.
Massachusetts’ Casey Rahn led the Minutemen in caused turnovers with 21 in 2009 and was picked as the CAA’s 2010 Preseason long-stick midfielder. Delaware’s Tom Lee, a Second Team All-CAA pick in 2009 as a face-off specialist, is the league’s lone Preseason First Team All-American by Inside Lacrosse. Lee enters 2010 with a two-year face-off winning percentage of .561, which ranks eighth-best in the league standings.
Delaware’s Pat Dowling, a 2009 All-CAA First Team selection, is one of three defenders on the league’s 2010 Preseason team. Dowling set a Blue Hen record last season by causing 22 turnovers. UMass’ Diogo Godoi, already recognized as a 2010 Preseason Second Team All-American, was an Honorable Mention All-America honoree last season. Hofstra’s Christian Scuderi was a First Team All-CAA selection last season and earned Honorable Mention All-America honors in 2009.
The CAA’s 2009 Rookie of the Year, Drexel’s Mark Manos (Salesianum School, DE/West Chester) is the 2010 Preseason All-CAA goalkeeper. Last season Manos turned in the league’s eighth-best save percentage of all-time at .595 in 15 games.
2010 CAA Preseason Men’s Lacrosse Poll
Team (first-place votes)
1. Hofstra (5), 25 points
2. Massachusetts (1), 21 points
3. Delaware, 17 points
4. Towson, 12 points
5. Penn State, 9 points
6. Drexel, 6 points
2010 Preseason All-CAA Men’s Lacrosse Team
Colin Ambler (A), Drexel (Abington)
Jay Card (A), Hofstra
Curtis Dickson (A), Delaware
Martin Cahill (M), Delaware
Will Harrington (M), Towson
Bob Hayes (M), Massachusetts
Chris Hogan (M), Penn State
Casey Rahn (LSM), Massachusetts
Tom Lee (FOS), Delaware
Pat Dowling (D), Delaware
Diogo Godo (D), Massachusetts
Christian Scuderi (D), Hofstra
Mark Manos (GK), Drexel (Salesianum School DE/West Chester)
CAA Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Player of the Year: Jay Card, A, Jr., Hofstra
