Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/25/18
From Press Release
Towson University was picked to win the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Lacrosse title in a vote of the league’s six head coaches. The Tigers, the three-time defending CAA champions, are coming off a season in which they advanced to the NCAA Championship Semifinals. Towson junior Zach Goodrich was selected as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year.
Hofstra’s Dylan Alderman (Bishop Shanahan) had 18 G, 18 A last year
Towson collected 24 points and four first-place votes while Hofstra University was picked second in the poll with 22 points and two first-place votes. They were followed by University of Massachusetts in third with 15 points and Drexel University in fourth with 14 points. Rounding out the order of finish was Fairfield University (8) and University of Delaware (7).
Towson finished 2017 with a 12-5 overall record and a 4-1 mark in league play to capture the regular season title. Goodrich, a short stick defensive midfielder, was a First Team All-CAA selection and USILA Second Team All-America last season. He tallied 47 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers, seven goals and an assist. Goodrich becomes only the second non-attackman to earn Preseason Player of the Year honors since the award began in 2009; former Penn State goalie Austin Kaut is the other, doing so in 2012 and 2014.
Joining Goodrich on the Preseason All-CAA Team was faceoff specialist Alex Woodall and defensemen Sid Ewell. A First Team All-CAA selection and USILA All-America honorable mention one season ago, Woodall won nearly 58.9 percent (188-319) of his draws and collected 98 ground balls. Ewell, an All-CAA Second Team pick in 2017, anchored the nation’s fourth-best scoring defense unit. He caused 12 turnovers and picked up 24 ground balls.
Hofstra, which went 11-3 overall (3-2 CAA) last season and was ranked as high as No. 2, led all teams with five preseason selections. Sophomore Ryan Tierney, who was the 2017 CAA Rookie of the Year, after posting 31 goals and 16 assists earned on a spot on attack. He was joined by midfielders Dylan Alderman (18g, 18a) and Brendan Kavanagh (23g, 6a), defenseman Brett Osman (25gb, 10ct) and goalie Jack Concannon. Last season, Concannon earn USILA All-America Second Team honors after leading the CAA with an 8.80 GAA, which also ranked him 14th in the country. He was second in the CAA in 16th in the country in saves per game (11.50).
UMass went 7-8 overall and 3-2 in CAA play in 2017 and earned a spot in the CAA Championship final for the second time in the last three seasons. The Minutemen will be led on defense by junior Isaac Paparo (48gb, 33ct), who earned a spot on the Preseason All-CAA Team.
Drexel went 6-8 overall and 3-2 in league play last year. The Dragons appeared in the CAA Championship tournament for the sixth consecutive season. Sophomore Reid Bowering earned a preseason nod after registering 24 goals, 15 assists and 32 ground balls in his rookie debut.
Fairfield went 5-9 overall and 2-3 in CAA action in 2017. They were led on attack by Colin Burke. The junior, who earned his second straight spot on the Preseason All-CAA squad, led the Stags with 26 goals and 15 assists.
Delaware, which went 7-8 overall last season, are under first-year Head Coach Ben DeLuca. The Blue Hens return many of its core players including junior Austin Haynes (30gb), who was selected to the Preseason All-CAA squad as a longstick midfielder, and Andrew Romagnoli (34g, 19a), who landed a spot at attack.
The men’s lacrosse season will begin February 10 with four CAA squads in action. Fairfield hosts Vermont, UMass travels to Army West Point, Delaware welcomes Mount St. Mary’s while Towson squares off with rival Johns Hopkins. Drexel opens its season on February 17 when it hosts Virginia while Hofstra opens the same day with a trip to Ohio State, last year’s national runner-up.
The CAA extended its partnership with the Lacrosse Sports Network (LSN) to broadcast 11 men’s lacrosse during the 2018 regular season, in addition to the CAA Championship. The 2018 CAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship is set for the first week in May and will be hosted by the No. 1 seed. Semifinal action begins on May 3 followed by the title contest is slated for May 5.
2018 CAA Men’s Lacrosse Predicted Order of Finish
1. Towson 24 (4)
2. Hofstra 22 (2)
3. UMass 15
4. Drexel 14
5. Fairfield 8
6. Delaware 7
2018 Preseason All-CAA Men’s Lacrosse Team
Name School Year Position Hometown
Reid Bowering Drexel So. A Coquitlam, British Columbia
Colin Burke Fairfield Jr. A Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.
Andrew Romagnoli Delaware Sr. A Cazenovia, N.Y.
Ryan Tierney Hofstra So. A Massapequa, N.Y.
Dylan Alderman Hofstra Sr. M Downingtown/Bishop Shanahan, Pa.
Zach Goodrich Towson Jr. M Stevensville, Md.
Brendan Kavanagh Hofstra Sr. M Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Austin Haynes Delaware Jr. LSM Moorestown/Moorestown High, N.J.
Sid Ewell Towson Sr. D Carlisle, Pa.
Brett Osman Hofstra Sr. D Miller Place, N.Y.
Isaac Paparo UMass Jr. D Westport, Conn.
Alex Woodall Towson Jr. FO Annapolis, Md.
Jack Concannon Hofstra Sr. GK Lindenhurst, N.Y.
Honorable Mention: Will Hirschmann, Delaware (Sr., M), Marshal King, Drexel (Jr., M), Michael Meurer, Drexel (Sr., D)
CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Zach Goodrich, Towson