University of Albany Men's Lacrosse Ranked #12 In Inside Lacrosse Preseason Poll - UAlbany Sports

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Baltimore, Md. -- UAlbany is ranked among the top-20 teams nationally in a pair of men’s lacrosse preseason polls. Face-Off Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse list the program at No. 12, while Lacrosse Magazine has the Great Danes at No. 18 in the publication’s ranking. Virginia was tabbed as preseason favorite to capture the NCAA Division I men’s championship in both polls.

Six teams on UAlbany’s 2009 schedule appeared in at least one of the national preseason polls. Syracuse, the defending national champion, is No. 2 in both rankings. Johns Hopkins is fourth by Face-Off Yearbook and rated fifth by Lacrosse Magazine. UMBC, Princeton and Denver appear in both top-20 listings. Delaware, who reached the 2007 NCAA Final Four, is No. 20 in the Face-Off Yearbook poll.

The Great Danes, who rebounded from four one-goal losses early in the season to finish 8-8 overall last year, received votes for the final 2008 USILA and Inside Lacrosse national polls.

UAlbany head coach Scott Marr has 28 letterwinners returning from a squad that reached the America East championship final for the seventh consecutive season. The Great Danes have three all-conference players in the fold. Brian Caufield, who earned first-team all-league honors as a freshman, led the team in scoring with 27 goals and 21 assists. Canadian attacker Corey Small and Capital Regional scholastic standout Chris Schongar, a long-sticker midfielder, were second-team all-conference selections. Small had 34 goals and 11 assists one year ago. UAlbany has 14 newcomers in a class that includes four U.S. Lacrosse High School All-Americans and one junior college All-America player.

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Face-Off Yearbook/Inside Lacrosse Preseason Poll

1. Virginia, 2. Syracuse, 3. Maryland, 4. Cornell, 5. Johns Hopkins, 6. Georgetown, 7. Duke, 8. North Carolina, 9. Notre Dame, 10. UMBC, 11. Navy, 12. Albany, 13. Brown, 14. Princeton, 15. Hofstra, 16. Denver, 17. Colgate, 18. Bucknell, 19. Loyola, 20. Delaware.