LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Ursinus College men's lacrosse team was ranked as the eighth-best team in the Centennial Conference preseason poll. A month later, the Bears are ranked as the eighth-best team in the country.
Ursinus moved up one spot to No. 8 in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) coaches' poll, establishing a new program standard ahead of a titanic top-10 showdown at Gettysburg. Having matched the best start in school history at 6-0, the Bears are now the highest-ranked team in the Centennial Conference. Gettysburg checks in at 9th, with Dickinson 10th and Franklin & Marshall 17th.
One of seven unbeaten teams in the rankings, the Bears completed their non-conference slate with a 16-7 rout of Eastern last Wednesday. Ursinus, which knocked off three ranked teams (Stevenson, Cortland, and Christopher Newport) in the process, enters Centennial Conference play leading the league in faceoff percentage behind the combined prowess of sophomore Aiden Baltz and senior Brian Casey and ranking second in scoring defense (8.49) and third in scoring offense (13.67).
Senior Peter DeSimone (17 goals, 13 assists), junior Bobby McClure (23 goals, 7 assists), and sophomore Hakan Atillasoy (19 goals, 7 assists) form the conference's most prolific attacking trio, all sitting within the top-10 in points. Behind a stout defense, senior goalie Nick Kirk is second with a goals-against average of 8.62.
The Bears kick off conference competition on Saturday at Gettysburg, an opportunity to add another notch to an already historic start. Ursinus is seeking its first victory over the Bullets in school history.