LANCASTER, Pa. – Fresh off the best season in school history, the Ursinus College men's lacrosse team was picked second in the Centennial Conference preseason poll released this morning. The Bears earned two first-place votes and a total of 58 points to land just behind defending champion Gettysburg in voting conducted by the league's head coaches.

Gettysburg, which went undefeated until the NCAA semifinals a year ago, topped the poll with seven of the eight available first-place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams). The Bullets finished 20-1 overall and 8-0 in conference play before capturing the Centennial Conference crown with an 11-10 victory over Ursinus. Gettysburg ended the Bears' watershed campaign with a 10-9 triumph in overtime in the NCAA second round.

Behind Ursinus came Dickinson (44) in third, and Franklin & Marshall and Washington College tied for fourth with 41 points. McDaniel (27), Swarthmore (21), Haverford (16), and Muhlenberg (13) rounded out the bottom half of the poll.

Ursinus is looking to build off a record-setting 2015 season that included the first NCAA Tournament win in program history. The Bears return five all-conference selections, including a two-time USILA All-American in senior goalkeeper Brian Neff, from a group that went 14-4 overall and 7-1 in league competition under the direction of Centennial Conference Coach of the Year Jamie Steele.

In addition to Neff, who led the CC in goals-against average (6.41), save percentage (.637), and saves (202) last year, Ursinus will lean on seniors Mike Durst and Patrick O'Donoghue and junior Zach Jones – all three were All-CC Second Team choices – to anchor a defense that surrendered ten goals only four times all of last season. Jones was third on the team with 14 caused turnovers and fourth in ground balls (40) a year ago, while Durst finished with 15 ground balls and six caused turnovers. O'Donoghue ranked fourth in the conference in ground balls (61).

Senior James Fairchild is back to man the X after ranking second in face-off wins (175-of-293) and earning second team all-conference honors in 2015.

The Bears lost three of their top four point-producers to graduation, but bring back plenty of scoring punch in the form of senior attack Steve Mussoline (16 goals, 13 assists) and a pair of rising sophomores returning from impressive rookie campaigns in midfielder Gerard Brown (10 G, 17 A) and attack Ian Desenberg (18 G, 4 A).

The Bears garnered three preseason national rankings, checking in at No. 13 in the USILA/Nike, Lacrosse Magazine, and Face-Off Yearbook preseason polls.

Ursinus opens the 2016 campaign this Saturday, February 20, when the Bears welcome Albright to Patterson Field.

2016 Centennial Conference Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll