Bucknell Men's Lacrosse No. 19 in Preseason Polls
2/1/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 1, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. --Less than two weeks remain until the start of the 2010 Bucknell men's lacrosse season, and the Bison will head into the new year with a national ranking from both major college polls. Bucknell is ranked No. 19 in both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll, which were announced on Monday.
Bucknell is coming off a Patriot League regular-season title in 2009, when it went 6-0 in the conference and earned the right to host the Patriot League Tournament for the first time. After a semifinal win over Army, the Bison dropped a gut-wrenching 9-8 decision to Navy in the championship game.
Bucknell returns most of its offensive firepower from a team that averaged better than 10 goals per game a year ago, including two-time All-America attackman Austin Winter. While the Bison did suffer some graduation hits on defense and in goal, reigning Patriot League Coach of the Year Frank Fedorjaka has some veteran replacements to turn to.
At No. 19, Bucknell is one of three Patriot League teams in the Inside Lacrosse poll and one of two in the coaches' poll. Navy is ranked No. 11 in both, while Colgate ranked No. 20 by Inside Lacrosse and is receiving votes in the USILA poll. Army is also receiving votes in both national polls, which forecasts another competitive year of Patriot League lacrosse.
The Bison played No. 4 North Carolina evenly in a scrimmage on Friday, and they will have one more scrimmage coming up this weekend against Fairfield. Then the 2010 season commences on Feb. 13 against No. 2 Duke on Feb. 13 in Atlanta. The Blue Devils were barely edged out by Syracuse for the top spot in both polls.