BALTIMORE, Md. – The Ursinus College men's lacrosse team has received its second preseason national ranking, landing at No. 13 in the Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Division III Men's Preseason Top 20.
The Bears, who were also slotted 13th by Face-Off Yearbook, are coming off a stellar 2015 campaign that saw them advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Ursinus finished 14-4 overall and 7-1 in the loaded Centennial Conference. Three of the Bears' four losses came at the hands of Gettysburg, which captured the league crown with an 11-10 decision and knocked Ursinus out of the NCAA Tournament after a 10-9, double-overtime thriller.
Ursinus placed eight players on the 2015 All-Centennial Conference Team, including the Defensive Player of the Year in senior Ryan Ridinger; head coach Jamie Steele was also named Coach of the Year. The Bears bring back five of those all-conference selections, a quintet headlined by senior goalkeeper Brian Neff (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata), a two-time first team honoree. Ursinus returns four second-team choices – senior defensive midfielder Mike Durst (Fairfax, Va./Oakton), senior faceoff specialist James Fairchild (Wayne, Pa./Malvern Prep), senior longstick midfielder Patrick O'Donoghue (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central), and junior defender Zach Jones (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley).
Defending national champion Tufts sat atop the poll, followed by Lynchburg, RIT, Salisbury, Amherst, Gettysburg, Middlebury, Ohio Wesleyan, Bates, and Stevenson.
2016 Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Division III Men's Preseason Top 20