Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/1/18
From Press Releases
The Widener University men’s lacrosse team has been selected third in the MAC Commonwealth preseason poll as announced Wednesday morning by the league office and voted on by the head coaches in the conference. The Pride received 50 points in the poll.
Widener gets ready for 2018 season
“We’re excited about our chances in the conference this season,” said head coach Jamie Lockard. “We believe we have the right mix of talent and leadership and hope to challenge for the top spot in always competitive MAC Commonwealth.”
Stevenson was selected to the top spot, garnering 64 points and all eight first place votes. Messiah ranked second, slightly ahead of Widener with 53 points. Lebanon Valley and Albright were fourth and fifth with 42 and 39 points respectively. Lycoming placed sixth with 28 points followed by Arcadia with 23. Hood (17) and Alvernia (8) rounded out the poll.
The Pride finished last season 9-8 and advanced to the MAC Commonwealth semifinals after a thrilling 12-11 win against Lebanon Valley in the Opening Round.
2018 MAC Commonwealth Men’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Preseason Poll
Rank Team Points (1st Place Votes)
1 Stevenson 64 (8)
2 Messiah 53
3 Widener 50
4 Lebanon Valley 42
5 Albright 39
6 Lycoming 28
7 Arcadia 23
8 Hood 17
9 Alvernia 8
The Misericordia Cougars were selected as the favorite in the 2018 conference preseason poll conducted among the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) men’s lacrosse coaches. The Cougars received 48 points and six first-place votes.
Eastern collected 43 points and the other two first-place votes, and DeSales came in third with 31 points. FDU-Florham (30 points) and Delaware Valley (29 points) followed closely behind to round out the top-5 of the poll.
The rest of the poll in respective order includes Manhattanville (19 points), King’s (15 points) and Wilkes (9 points).
Misericordia defeated Eastern, 6-1, to claim the 2017 MAC Freedom Championship. The Cougars went on to the NCAA Division III Championship where they advanced to the second round before falling to Salisbury on the road. Misericordia defeated Lasell in the opening round.
Joining Misericordia (1) and Eastern (2) at the 2017 conference championship were DeSales (3) and FDU-Florham (4).
2018 MAC Freedom Men’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Preseason Poll
Rank Team Points (1st Place Votes)
1 Misericordia 48 (6)
2 Eastern 43 (2)
3 DeSales 31
4 FDU-Florham 30
5 Delaware Valley 29
6 Manhattanville 19
7 King’s 15
8 Wilkes 9