Monmouth Selected as Unanimous MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Favorite; Siena’s Chris Robertson Named Preseason Player of the Year
EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced today that Monmouth University was selected as the unanimous favorite in the 2018 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll, based on a vote by the leagues’ seven head coaches. Siena College senior attack Chris Robertson claimed the MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Player of the Year honor.
The Hawks (14-4, 6-0 MAAC) received all seven first-place votes for 49 points overall in the poll. Monmouth captured its first MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship in program history last season, in what was its fourth year of existence as a program. The Hawks defeated No. 3 Marist College, 9-8, to secure the 2017 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship.
Monmouth head coach Brian Fisher was named the 2017 BSN Sports MAAC Coach of the Year after leading his team to its first conference title and its first regular season championship. The Hawks led the MAAC in goals (175), ground balls (475), points (261), caused turnovers per game (9.00), goals against average (7.32), and fewest turnovers per game (10.78).
Marist placed second in the 2018 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches’ Poll with 42 points overall. The Red Foxes went (10-6, 4-2 MAAC) and earned the No. 3 seed in the 2017 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Marist defeated No. 2 Canisius College, 8-5, in the semifinal round before it fell to Monmouth in the Championship final. The Red Foxes have won three MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championships, their last coming in 2015.
Quinnipiac University (30) was selected third in the poll, followed by Detroit Mercy (23) in fourth, and Siena College (22) in fifth. Canisius College (21), and Manhattan College (9) round out the Preseason Coaches’ Poll in the final two slots.
Robertson earns the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year honor after he was tabbed the Co-Offensive Player of the Year in his junior campaign. The attack ranked tied for first in the MAAC in goals (35), first in man-up goals (7), second in shots per game (7.14), fifth in points (42), third in shots (100), and fourth in points per game (3.0). Robertson was an All-MAAC First Team selection in 2017 and recorded his 100
th career points on April 29.
The Preseason All-MAAC Team is comprised of three attacks, three midfielders, three defenders, one goalkeeper, one long stick midfielder, one short stick midfielder, and one face-off specialist. Quinnipiac notched a league-high four student-athletes on the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
Canisius’ Connor Kearnan, Monmouth’ Bryce Wasserman, and Siena’s Robertson were selected to the team at attack. Marist’s Gannon Morrison, Monmouth’s Dylan Schulte, and Quinnipiac’s Foster Cuomo earned Preseason All-MAAC honors at midfield. Canisius’ Logan Monroe, Monmouth’s Garrett Pfeifer, and Quinnipiac’s Riley Palmer were tabbed to the team at defense. Marist’s Brian Corrigan was the lone unanimous selection at goalkeeper. Quinnipiac’s Will Vitelli (face-off specialist), Adam Bellamy (long stick midfielder), and Charlie Hayes (short stick midfielder) received recognition as specialists.
A total of 13 men’s and 20 women’s lacrosse games are slated to air on the ESPN family of networks in 2018.ESPN announced that the men’s lacrosse matchup between Monmouth and Canisius on Friday, April 27, is set to air on ESPNU at 4 p.m. from the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, NY.
The 2018 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship is hosted by Monmouth University at Kessler Stadium in West Long Branch, NJ. The top four teams from the regular season qualify for the MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Semifinal games take place on Thursday, May 3, on ESPN3 and the championship game is slated for Saturday, May 5, on ESPNU at 10 a.m. For more information on the 2018 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship, visit
maacsports.com/mlax.
| Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| 1. |
Monmouth (7)* |
49 |
| 2. |
Marist |
42 |
| 3. |
Quinnipiac |
30 |
| 4. |
Detroit Mercy |
23 |
| 5. |
Siena |
22 |
| 6. |
Canisius |
21 |
| 7. |
Manhattan |
9 |
| *denotes unanimous selection |
| Preseason All-MAAC Team |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Connor Kearnan |
Attack |
Canisius |
| Bryce Wasserman |
Attack |
Monmouth |
| Chris Robertson |
Attack |
Siena |
| Gannon Morrison |
Midfield |
Marist |
| Dylan Schulte |
Midfield |
Monmouth |
| Foster Cuomo |
Midfield |
Quinnipiac |
| Logan Monroe |
Defense |
Canisius |
| Garrett Pfeifer |
Defense |
Monmouth |
| Riley Palmer |
Defense |
Quinnipiac |
| Brian Corrigan* |
Goalkeeper |
Marist |
| Adam Bellamy |
Long Stick Midfielder |
Quinnipiac |
| Charlie Hayes |
Short Stick Midfielder |
Detroit Mercy |
| Will Vitelli |
Face-off Specialist |
Quinnipiac |
| *denotes unanimous selection |
| Preseason Player of the Year |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Chris Robertson |
Attack |
Siena |
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37
th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.