Men's Lacrosse Tabbed Third in East Division of NEC Preseason Poll
1/29/2020 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
SOMERSET, N.J. – The Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team was picked to finish third in the East Division of the new-look Northeast Conference Preseason Poll, as announced by the league office on Wednesday afternoon. The third place selection is tied for the highest preseason ranking SHU has ever garnered since the league's founding in 2010.
The new-look NEC men's lacrosse membership features two new additions this season as Merrimack has joined the conference in all sports while NJIT is an associate member for men's lacrosse starting in 2020. With the league's new members, the NEC shifts into five-team East and West Divisions for men's lacrosse. SHU is in the East with Hobart, Bryant, Merrimack and Wagner while the West includes Robert Morris, Saint Joseph's, Mount St. Mary's, NJIT and LIU.
SHU was voted third in the East Division with Hobart being named the unanimous favorite. Bryant earned the second-most points in the East Division poll while SHU came in ahead of Merrimack and Wagner who tied for fourth. In the West, RMU was deemed the favorite followed by Saint Joseph's, Mount St. Mary's, NJIT and LIU.
The Pioneers are coming off another successful campaign that saw SHU go 9-6 overall and 4-2 in NEC play, clinching a spot in the NEC Tournament for a school record third straight season and fifth time overall. The nine-win season matched the program's Div. I (since 2000) single-season wins record while the Pioneers' 5-2 record in games played away from home and 5-3 overall mark in non-conference play both set new Div. I program records.
The new-look NEC will feature a new-look SHU roster that has to overcome the loss of three All-NEC First Team selections from 2019 including the program's two highest-scoring players in program history. Joe Saggese (205 points; 126 goals, 79 assists) and Max Tuttle (198 points; 134 goals, 64 assists) graduated in 2019 as the first and second-highest scoring players in SHU men's lacrosse history, respectively, while Tuttle became the program's first-ever All-American. On the defensive end, Joseph Cipoletti (65 ground balls, 43 caused turnovers) also graduated following a 2019 season in which he led the nation in caused turnovers per game (3.31).
SHU will lean on a rising junior class that features several standouts looking to continue to expand their game and vault into larger roles on offense and defense. One of two returning All-NEC performers from last season includes Logan Liljeberg who'll move into an attack position in 2020 after earning his first career All-NEC First Team nod in 2019. Last season, Liljeberg was tremendous in an all-around midfield role as he totaled 44 points with 44 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers while being one of just two players in the nation to finish the regular season with at least 20 goals, 20 assists and 40 ground balls.
Joining Liljeberg on attack is rising juniors Drew Edwards and Alex Weiss who both finished with 23 points in 2019 which was tied for fifth-most on the team. Another key player to watch in 2020 is Stony Brook transfer Jack Walsh who heads into his junior season after racking up 59 career points in 30 games played for the Seawolves. Walsh is an elite passer as 47 of his 59 career points are assists while he led Stony Brook with 22 assists in 2019.
At midfield, Donovan Lacey, Jake Lindahl and Kyle Foley figure to step into leading roles after all three saw significant time in 2019. Lacey was named a College Crosse Third Team Freshmen All-American at defensive midfield while Lindahl started 13 of 15 games and Kyle Foley totaled 15 ground balls last season.
On defense, Austin Pavone was an All-NEC Second Teamer in 2019 and will be leaned on heavily with the loss of Cipoletti and Landon Kramer to graduation. Pavone has started 28 consecutive games heading into this season and put up 16 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers on his way to an All-Conference selection in 2019. Other key figures on the defensive side to watch in 2020 include Conor Sullivan and Thomas Houlihan.
In goal, Brooks Dutton heads into his senior season with loads of experience having started 43 games in his first three seasons as a Pioneer. Dutton is just two wins away from the all-time record at SHU while his 10.92 career goals-against average is the second-best in program history heading into 2020. Colton King will also see some time in the cage for SHU after excelling in relief duty in the NEC Semifinals last season as he came on and posted 13 saves (just seven goals allowed) in 42+ minutes.
Five teams will advance to the postseason with the #4 seed hosting the #5 seed in a play-in prior to the start of the NEC Tournament, which will continue to take place at the #1 seed for the semifinal and championship round.
The Pioneers' 2020 season begins next weekend as SHU hosts annual non-conference foe Hartford on Sunday, Feb. 9 with the opening faceoff set for 12:00 PM.
