March 23, 2010

Men's Lacrosse Appears In USILA Poll, Jumps To 6th In NEILA Poll

HAMDEN, Conn. - Led by the nation's leader in three of nine statistical categories, the Quinnipiac University men's lacrosse team appears in the "also receiving votes" section of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Coaches' Poll for the first time this week. In addition, the Bobcats moved up to sixth in the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) Coaches' Poll.

The Bobcats are off to a 4-1 start this season, in large part due to stellar play at the face-off X and in goal. Sophomore Zach Pall (Setauket, N.Y.) is the nation's leader in face-off winning percentage (.683), as well as ground balls per game (9.25). Meanwhile, senior goalie Kevin Benzing (Severna Park, Md.) leads the nation in save percentage (.674) after stopping 21 of 28 shots this past weekend at Hobart. Benzing also ranks third nationally in goals-against average (6.66).

As a team, Quinnipiac ranks in the top 10 nationally in eight of 14 categories. The Bobcats rank second in scoring defense (6.2) and face-off winning percentage (.620), third in scoring margin (+5.6) and caused turnovers per game (11.8), fifth in man-down defense (.793), seventh in saves per game (12.8) and eighth in winning percentage (.800) and ground balls per game (36.0).

The NEILA poll features top-ranked Brown, followed by Harvard, Yale, Massachusetts, and Fairfield. The Bobcats rank sixth, with Bryant and Dartmouth rounding out the poll.

The Bobcats return to action Saturday, when they play host to Ohio State in an ECAC Lacrosse clash. Opening face-off from the Quinnipiac Field Hockey & Lacrosse Turf Field is scheduled for noon.

USILA Coaches Poll

  1. Virginia
  2. Syracuse
  3. North Carolina
  4. Maryland
  5. Princeton
  6. Hofstra
  7. Duke
  8. Lafayette
  9. Cornell
  10. Georgetown
  11. Drexel
  12. Johns Hopkins
  13. Notre Dame
  14. Loyola (Md.)
  15. Brown
  16. Harvard
  17. Stony Brook
  18. Massachusetts
  19. Bucknell
  20. Yale

Also Receiving Votes: Sacred Heart, Villanova, Fairfield, Navy, Denver, Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac, Bellarmine, Robert Morris.

NEILA Coaches' Poll