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Delaware Lacrosse News |
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January 29, 2009
University of Delaware Picked No. 2 in CAA Pre-Season Men’s Lacrosse Poll |
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RICHMOND, Va. -- Led by pre-season Colonial Athletic Association
Player of the Year Curtis Dickson, the University of Delaware men’s
lacrosse team was picked No. 2 in the CAA Pre-Season Coaches Poll
announced Thursday afternoon by the league office.
Defending league champion Hofstra, which posted a record of 10-6 last
year and fell to Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament, was the pre-season No. 1 pick as the Pride earned five of
the seven first place votes and 35 points, edging Delaware. The Blue
Hens were No. 2 with two first place votes and 31 points overall
followed by Drexel, Towson, Villanova, Sacred Heart, and Robert Morris.
Delaware, looking to post an unprecedented sixth straight winning season
this spring, will kickoff the 2009 men’s lacrosse season when the Hens
host Saint Joseph’s next Saturday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m. at Rullo Stadium.
The Delaware-SJU matchup is historically the nation’s first game of the
season. The CAA championships will be held Apr. 29 and May 2 at sites of
the higher seeds.
The No. 2 selection was the latest honor for a Blue Hens team that
returns 19 letterwinners from last year’s squad that posted a 9-7 record
and advanced to the CAA semifinals for the fifth straight season.
Earlier this year, Delaware was picked No. 20 in the Inside
Lacrosse/Faceoff Yearbook Pre-Season Top 25 poll and No. 23 in the
LAXNews.com Pre-Season Top 25.
Dickson, a junior attackman from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia
(Riverside High School), highlighted the pre-season all-conference team
selected by the league coaches and was joined on the pre-season
all-conference team by junior midfielder Martin Cahill (Governor’s
Academy/Malden, Mass.) and sophomore defender Pat Dowling (Fairfield
Ludlowe/Fairfield, Conn.).
Dickson was the runner-up for CAA Player of the Year honors a year ago
and earned a spot on the USILA honorable mention All-American squad and
All-CAA first team after leading the team and the CAA in scoring with 62
points on 46 goals and 16 assists. He scored two or more goals 12 times
during the season, including netting a season-high six goals vs. Drexel
and five each vs. Stony Brook, UMBC, and Marist. He also earned
pre-season All-American honors by Inside Lacrosse earlier this year.
Cahill, a second-year starter, earned first team All-CAA honors as a
sophomore in 2007 when he was second on the team in goals scored (29)
and fourth on the squad in total points with 38. He scored three goals
in a game six times last season and netted the game-winner in the Hens’
thrilling 8-7 triple overtime win over Albany.
Dowling earned a spot on the CAA All-Rookie team a year ago as a
redshirt freshmen when he started all 16 games and led the team with 18
caused turnovers while scooping up 35 groundballs. He anchored a
Delaware defense that held opponents to only 9.34 goals per game.
AGATE:
2009 Colonial Athletic Association Pre-Season Coaches Poll: 1. Hofstra
(5 first place votes), 35 points; 2. Delaware (2), 31; 3. Drexel, 27; 4.
Towson, 20; 5. Villanova, 17; 6. Sacred Heart, 9; 7. Robert Morris, 8.
2009 CAA Pre-Season All-Conference Team: Attack - Curtis Dickson
(Delaware), Colin Ambler (Drexel), Jay Card (Hofstra); Midfield -
Martin Cahill (Delaware), Greg Casey (Drexel), Anthony Muscarella
(Hofstra); Longstick Midfield: Steve Prifte (Drexel); Faceoff
Specialist: Ryan West (Drexel); Defense - Pat Dowling (Delaware), Matt
McCormick (Drexel), Eddie DiDonato (Villanova); Goalkeeper - Danny
Orlando (Hofstra).
Player of the Year: Curtis Dickson (Delaware)
Source: University of Delaware Sports Information Dept.
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