Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/24/17
From Press Release
The No. 11/12 Towson University men’s lacrosse team was picked to three-peat as Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champions in 2017 while No. 17/20 Fairfield University sophomore Colin Burke selected as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year, according to a vote by the league’s six head coaches.
Burke had an outstanding freshman campaign in which he was named the CAA Co-Player of the Year, the CAA Rookie of the Year, and an USILA All-America Honorable Mention. A seven-time CAA Rookie of the Week during the spring, Burke set Fairfield freshman records and led the CAA with 46 goals and 63 total points. Coming into the season, Burke received an honorable mention in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook.
Towson had one of its best seasons in program history, reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals after collecting the team’s record-setting sixth CAA crown. The Tigers went 16-3 overall, a program record, while winning four of its five league games and hosting the 2016 CAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. In a defensive gem, Towson topped Fairfield 4-2 in the league title game, before picking up NCAA Tournament wins over Hobart (18-5) and No. 2 Denver (10-9).
The Tigers had five Preseason All-CAA selections, including attackman Ryan Drenner, the 2016 CAA Co-Player of the Year, and Joe Seider, who combined for 71 goals and 28 assists last season. Rounding out the key returnees are shortstick defensive midfielder, Jack Adams, who earned Preseason All-American Second Team honors, midfielder Mike Lynch and longstick middie Tyler Mayes.
No. 17/20 Fairfield was picked to finish second in the poll and was followed by Hofstra University in third and Drexel University in fourth. Rounding out the order of finish was the University of Delaware in fifth and the University of Massachusetts in sixth.
Fairfield is coming off of a 9-8 season and its fifth straight winning campaign which culminated with the team’s first-ever trip to the CAA Championship final. The Stags, who return 30 student-athletes from last spring’s club are one of five teams in the nation to have won three consecutive conference regular season titles. Joining Burke on the Preseason All-CAA squad is senior goalie Tyler Behring and senior defender Andrew Eidenshink. Last season, Behring had a 9.19 GAA with 199 saves and finished eighth in the nation in saves per game (11.71). Eidenshink started all 17 games in front of Behring, coming away with 15 ground balls and five caused turnovers.
Hofstra posted a 9-6 record last spring with a 3-2 conference mark. Preseason All-CAA face-off man Kris Clarke is back for his senior season. In 2016, Clarke led the conference and ranked 20th nationally in face-off winning percentage (.572) capturing 163 of 285 face-offs over 14 games. He also picked up 86 ground balls, which led the CAA and finished the year ranked 11th in ground balls per game (6.14). The Pride also returns Preseason All-CAA picks Brendan Kavanagh in the midfield and Jack Concannon in the cage. Last season, Concannon shared All-CAA First Team honors with Behring after posting an 8.56 GAA with 167 stops while Kavanagh potted 10 goals with 13 assists.
Drexel went 6-9 overall and 2-3 in conference play last season and return Preseason All-CAA defenseman Jake Kiernan in addition to four of its top-scorers. Last season, Kiernan appeared in 15 games with 14 starts. He caused 21 turnovers and picked up 27 ground balls.
The men’s lacrosse season will begin February 4 when Delaware heads to Bucknell for the first game of the NCAA Division I season. Two teams get underway on February 11 with UMass hosting to Army and Fairfield traveling to Richmond. Towson, Hofstra and Drexel open the year on February 18 with the Tigers taking on Mount St. Mary’s, the Pride hosting Monmouth and Drexel traveling to Virginia.
The CAA recently signed an agreement with the Lacrosse Sports Network to broadcast 10 men’s lacrosse during the 2017 regular season, in addition to the CAA Championship semifinals. The 2017 CAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship is set for the first week in May with semifinal action beginning on May 4. The title contest is slated for May 6 live on the American Sports Network. Both the semifinals and final will be hosted by the No. 1 Seed.
2017 PRESEASON ALL-CAA MEN’S LACROSSE TEAM
Name, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School
Colin Burke, Fairfield*%& A So. Lloyd Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor
Ryan Drenner, Towson* A Sr. Westminster, Md./Westminster
Joe Seider, Towson# A Sr. Sparks, Md./Hereford
Jack Adams, Towson* M Sr. Freeland, Md./Hereford
Brendan Kavanagh, Hofstra M Jr. Rockville Centre, N.Y./Kellenberg
Mike Lynch, Towson# M Sr. Forest Hill, Md./Boys Latin
Tyler Mayes, Towson* LSM Sr. Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall
Kris Clarke, Hofstra* FO Sr. Bellmore, N.Y./Chaminade
Andrew Eidenshink, Fairfield# D Sr. Wyncote, Pa./La Salle Prep
Tanner Griffin, Hofstra D Jr. Loveland, Ohio/Loveland
Jake Kiernan, Drexel D Sr. Huntington, N.Y./St. Dominic
Tyler Behring, Fairfield* GK Sr. Little Silver, N.J./Berkshire School
Jack Concannon, Hofstra* GK Jr. Lindenhurst, N.Y./St. Anthony’s
* First Team All-CAA in 2016 % 2016 CAA Co-Player of the Year & 2016 Rookie of the Year # Second Team All-CAA in 2016
Honorable Mention: Josh Byrne (Hofstra, Sr., A), Steve Delargy (Delaware, Sr., M), Zach Goodrich (Towson, So., M), Tyler Weeks (UMass, Sr., D), Isaac Paparo (UMass, So, LSM), Will Fox (Fairfield/St. Augustine Prep-NJ, Jr., FO)
CAA MEN’S LACROSSE PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Colin Burke, A, So., Fairfield
2017 CAA MEN’S LACROSSE PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Towson 25 (5)
2. Fairfield 21 (1)
3. Hofstra 15
4. Drexel 11
5. Delaware 10
6. UMass 8