February 16, 2011

Men's Lacrosse Picked Seventh In New England Coaches' Poll

HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac University men's lacrosse team has been picked seventh in New England by the region's coaches, the New England Interscholastic Lacrosse Association announced Wednesday. Yale took the top spot in the poll with five first-place votes, while UMass came in second, also taking five first-place votes.

Harvard took the remaining first-place vote and third place in the poll, while Brown, Fairfield and Bryant followed. After Quinnipiac came Hartford in eighth.

Quinnipiac returns its top three point scorers from a year ago, including top goal-scorers Jack Oppenheimer (Conshohocken, Pa.) (32) and Christian Haggerty (West Nyack, N.Y.) (25). Haggerty also dished out a team-high 25 assists. Kevin Kelly (Redding, Conn.) also returns after totaling 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists as a junior.

The backbone of the Bobcats' defense, goalie Kevin Benzing (Severna Park, Md.) and defenseman Jake Glebocki (Wilbraham, Mass.) also return for their senior season. Benzing compiled an 8.69 goals-against average (15th-NCAA) and a .552 save percentage (20th-NCAA) in posting a 7-6 record in 2010. Glebocki anchored a Bobcats defense that held the opposition to just 8.57 goals per game last season. Starting all 14 games for Quinnipiac, he picked up 27 ground balls on the season.

Quinnipiac opens the 2011 season at Brown on Feb. 26. Opening face-off from Stevenson Field in Providence, R.I. is scheduled for 1 p.m.

2011 New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association
Preseason Poll

1. Yale (5)
2. Massachusetts (5)
3. Harvard (1)
4. Brown
5. Fairfield
6. Bryant
7. Quinnipiac
8. Hartford