Jan. 29, 2010
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Notre Dame has been picked to finish second in the inaugural season of the BIG EAST men’s lacrosse league. The conference’s head coaches casted the votes and were not permitted to vote for their own teams. Syracuse was tabbed to win the league with six first-place votes, while Notre Dame received one first-place nod.
Rounding out the order of finish was Georgetown, Villanova, Rutgers, St. John’s and Providence. Men’s lacrosse is the 24th sport sponsored by the BIG EAST and is the 11th men’s sport. The seven teams will play a six-game single round-robin regular-season schedule.
Four Notre Dame student-athletes were named to the 2010 All-BIG EAST Preseason Team. Senior Scott Rodgers was the lone goalie selected to the 15-man squad. Fellow seniors Sam Barnes (D), Neal Hicks (A) and Grant Krebs (M) also were chosen for the all-conference team.
Rodgers (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur), a preseason first-team All-American according Inside Lacrosse, is coming off a campaign in which he ranked first among all NCAA Division I goalies in goals-against average (6.14) and save percentage (.663). He earned third-team All-America honors last season. Rodgers, a two-time team captain, was named the 2009 Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) Player of the Year.
Barnes (Branford, Conn./Branford) was an anchor on the Irish defense that led the nation with a program-record 6.19 goals-against average during the 2009 campaign. He started every contest and notched one assist and 28 ground balls en route to earning honorable mention All-America honors. Barnes has been tabbed as a preseason second-team All-American by Inside Lacrosse.
Hicks (Atlanta, Ga./Lovett School) had a breakout season in 2009 as he led Notre Dame with 43 points on 25 goals and 18 assists. All of those figures were career-best marks for the attackman. Hicks, a team captain, notched a point in every game last season and netted a goal in all but three contests. He received second-team all-GWLL honors in 2009.
Krebs (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s), a preseason second-team All-American according to Inside Lacrosse, deposited 29 goals and assisted on nine others last season. His 38 points were the most by an Irish midfielder and helped him earn a first-team all-GWLL citation. Krebs will carry team-best streaks for points (32) and goals (28) into the 2010 campaign.
Notre Dame is ranked 10th in the Lacrosse Magazine preseason poll. The Fighting Irish open the 2010 campaign at Duke on Saturday, Feb. 20. Notre Dame went 15-1 last season and earned the No. 7 seed for the NCAA Championship.
Syracuse’s Stephen Keogh was named the 2010 BIG EAST Preseason Attack Player of the Year, while Georgetown’s Barney Ehrmann is the BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
All-BIG EAST Preseason Team^GoalkeeperScott Rodgers, Notre Dame, Sr., GKLong-Stick MidfielderJoel White, Syracuse, Jr., LSMSpecialty PlayerJovan Miller, Syracuse, Jr., MFAt-LargeJosh Amidon, Syracuse, Jr., MFSam Barnes, Notre Dame, Sr., DAndrew Brancaccio, Georgetown, Sr., MFCraig Dowd, Georgetown, Sr., ABarney Ehrmann, Georgetown, Sr., DNeal Hicks, Notre Dame, Sr., ACody Jamieson, Syracuse, Sr., AStephen Keogh, Syracuse, Jr., AScott Kocis, Georgetown, Sr., MFGrant Krebs, Notre Dame, Sr., MFJohn Lade, Syracuse, Jr., DJustin Pennington, Rutgers, Sr., MF
^ - two players were added to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team due to a tie in voting
BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll 2009 Points Overall Record Syracuse (6) 36 16-2Notre Dame (1) 31 15-1Georgetown 25 7-7Villanova 19 11-6Rutgers 17 4-11St. John's 13 5-9Providence 6 6-10(-) - First-place votes