Quinnipiac Selected as Unanimous Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Favorite; Foster Cuomo & Jeff Edwards Earn Co-Preseason Player of the Year Honors
MAAC Sports
EDISON, NJ – The defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Lacrosse champion Quinnipiac University, has been selected as the unanimous 2017 preseason favorite, as voted upon by the leagues seven head coaches, totaling 49 points.
Quinnipiac went 6-0 in conference play last season en route to winning its first MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship in program history. The Bobcats defeated Marist College 13-9 in the 2016 MAAC Championship game to advance to the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship. In preliminary round action, Quinnipiac knocked off Hartford 14-9, behind four goals from the 2017 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Co-Preseason Player of the Year, Foster Cuomo.
Monmouth ranks second in the preseason coaches’ poll with 38 points. Last season the Hawks were 3-3 in MAAC play and faced Marist in the semifinals of the MAAC Championship. Monmouth ranked first in the MAAC in 2016 with 7.57 caused turnovers per game and second with an 8.42 goals against average. Returning for the Hawks is 2017 Preseason All-MAAC member, senior defensemen Andrew Grajewski.
Marist comes in third in the preseason poll with 34 points and a league-best four players on the 2017 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason All-MAAC team. The Red Foxes were 4-2 in the MAAC a season ago and made it to the championship game before falling to Quinnipiac. J.D. Recor was second in the MAAC with 1.73 assists per game and second with 3.53 points per game. Goalkeeper Brian Corrigan ranked first in the MAAC with an 8.14 goals against average and a 58.7 save percentage. The senior goalkeeper ranked second with 11.75 saves per game.
In fourth-place in the preseason poll is three-time MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Champions, Siena College. The Saints placed defender Joe Arcarese on the 2017 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason All-MAC team. Canisius College placed in fifth with 23 points. The Griffs are led by Co-Preseason Player of the Year, Jeff Edwards. Edwards led the MAAC with 2.17 assists last season. Detroit Mercy and Manhattan College round out the preseason poll in sixth and seventh place, respectively.
The 2017 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship will take place from Friday, May 5- Sunday, May 7 at a predetermined site, which is to be determined at this time. The 2017 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship game will take place on Sunday, May 7 at 10:00 a.m. and will air live on ESPNU. As part of the MAAC’s deal with ESPN, one regular season game on Friday, April 28 will be flexed onto ESPNU. One of the following games is eligible to be flexed onto ESPNU: Manhattan at Monmouth, Quinnipiac at Canisius or Siena at Marist.
For all information on the 2017 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship, visit maacsports.com/menslax
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
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1.
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Quinnipiac (7)
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49
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2.
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Monmouth
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38
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|
3.
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Marist
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34
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|
4.
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Siena
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24
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5.
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Canisius
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23
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6.
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Detroit Mercy
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17
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7.
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Manhattan
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11
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Preseason All-MAAC Team
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Parker Giarratana
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Attack
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Manhattan
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JD Recor*
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Attack
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Marist
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Brian Feldman
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Attack
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Quinnipiac
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Jeff Edwards*
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Midfield
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Canisius
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|
Gannon Morrison
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Midfield
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Marist
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Foster Cuomo*
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Midfield
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Quinnipiac
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Frankie Brier
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Defense
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Marist
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Andrew Grajewski
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Defense
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Monmouth
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Joe Arcarese
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Defense
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Siena
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Brian Corrigan
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Goalie
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Marist
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Co-Preseason Player of the Year
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Jeff Edwards
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Midfield
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Canisius
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Foster Cuomo
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Midfield
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Quinnipiac
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*denotes unanimous selection