Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/30/10
From Press Releases
Two-time defending NCAA champion Syracuse University has been unanimously selected as the 2010 preseason favorite to win the inaugural season of the BIG EAST men’s lacrosse league.
The league’s seven head coaches cast the votes and were not permitted to vote for their own programs. Syracuse’s Stephen Keogh has been named the Big East Preseason Attack Player of the Year, while Georgetown’s Barney Ehrmann is the Big East Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Men’s lacrosse is the 24th sport sponsored by the Big East and is the 11th men’s sport. The seven conference schools participating are Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse and Villanova. The teams will play a six-game single round-robin regular-season schedule.
Villanova, which won the Colonial Athletic Association title last year, was picked to finish fourth.Villanova garnered 19 points. The Wildcats earned a berth to the 2009 NCAA Championship with an automatic bid after defeating Hofstra (No. 1 seed) and Towson (No. 2 seed) to win the CAA. Villanova ended the year with an 11-6 mark after falling to Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Championship.
Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Points Overall Record (2009)
Syracuse (6) 36 16-2
Notre Dame (1) 31 15-1
Georgetown 25 7-7
Villanova 19 11-6
Rutgers 17 4-11
St. John’s 13 5-9
Providence 6 6-10
2010 Big East Preseason Team/Awards and Poll
Big East Preseason Attack Player of the Year
Stephen Keogh, Syracuse, Jr., A
Big East Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Barney Ehrmann, Georgetown, Sr., D
All-Big East Preseason Team
Goalkeeper
Scott Rodgers, Notre Dame, Sr., GK
Long-Stick Midfielder
Joel White, Syracuse, Jr., LSM
Specialty Player
Jovan Miller, Syracuse, Jr., MF
At-Large
Josh Amidon, Syracuse, Jr., MF
Sam Barnes, Notre Dame, Sr., D
Andrew Brancaccio, Georgetown, Sr., MF
Craig Dowd, Georgetown, Sr., A
Barney Ehrmann, Georgetown, Sr., D
Neal Hicks, Notre Dame, Sr., A
Cody Jamieson, Syracuse, Sr., A
Stephen Keogh, Syracuse, Jr., A
Scott Kocis, Georgetown, Sr., MF
Grant Krebs, Notre Dame, Sr., MF
John Lade, Syracuse, Jr., D
Justin Pennington, Rutgers, Sr., MF
Keogh, a junior, was a USILA Honorable Mention All-American a year ago. Playing all 18 games, Keogh led the Orange and tied for seventh on the team’s single-season record list with 49 goals, while leading the nation with 12 man-up goals. Ehrmann appeared in all 14 games for the Hoyas in 2009 on the defensive line and led the team with 62 ground balls.
Syracuse is coming off its second straight NCAA Championship title and a 16-2 record – matching the school record for wins in a single season. Syracuse will be playing in a conference for the first time in program history. The Orange return eight preseason all-Americans and five players who started at least 10 games last season.
SU placed six players on the 2010 All-Big East Preseason Team. Playing in only the last six games of last season, senior Cody Jamieson was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team after finishing second on the Orange with 11 points in the postseason.
Junior Joel White earns preseason honors after being named a 2009 USILA Honorable Mention All-American and to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. Playing in 17 games as the team’s primary long-stick midfielder, White was second on the team with 63 ground balls, while contributing five goals and three assists. Junior Josh Amidon played in all 18 games, recording 14 goals and nine assists.
Juniors Jovan Miller and John Lade were also named to the All-Big East Preseason Team. They played in all 18 games as part of an SU defense that ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense and posted a 7.38 team goals-against average. Lade was named a 2009 USILA Honorable Mention All-American.
Notre Dame established a program record for wins and winning percentage in a single season in 2009, as the Fighting Irish went undefeated through the regular season and ended the year with a 15-1 record. ND made its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Championship, suffering its only loss to Maryland in the tournament’s first round.
Georgetown is picked to finish third in the first season of Big East men’s lacrosse, earning 25 points. The Hoyas held an overall record of 7-7 last year, and missed the NCAA Championship for just the second time in the last 13 years.
Joining Ehrmann on the preseason team and anchoring the midfield will be seniors Andrew Brancaccio and Scott Kocis. Brancaccio finished fourth on the team in scoring with 25 points and second with 22 goals, while playing in all 14 games. Kocis was a starter in each game for the Hoyas and tied for second on the team with 29 points, including 21 goals.
Rutgers was picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll with 19 points. The Scarlet Knights ended the 2009 season with a 4-11 record. Senior Justin Pennington is an All-Big East Preseason Team selection and returns to the Scarlet Knights’ lineup after competing in 14 games with eight starts last season. He notched 32 points on 16 goals and 16 assists.
St. John’s was selected sixth in the preseason poll with 13 points, while Providence was picked seventh. The Red Storm completed the 2009 campaign with a 5-9 mark and the Friars held a 6-10 record a year ago.
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