FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Salisbury was unanimously voted atop the 2020 Capital Athletic Conference Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll, receiving five first-place votes and 25 points in a vote among the conference head coaches. The Sea Gulls have advanced to atleast the national semifinal round each of the last four seasons, including back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.
York ranked second in the poll with 20 points and received the final first-place vote, followed by Christopher Newport (18), St. Mary's (10) and Southern Virginia (9) in third through fifth, respectively. Mary Washington rounded out the contingent in sixth place with eight points.
The 2020 season kicks off this Sunday (Feb. 2) as Salisbury hosts Berry for the annual opener between the two programs before the rest of the league gets underway the following weekend. The majority of CAC teams open up the year in mid-February, with CAC play set to hit full swing in early April.
The CAC Tournament will feature six teams this spring with the top two seeds receiving a bye, beginning with the first round on Saturday, Apr. 25 and culminating with the championship game on Saturday, May 2.
2020 CAC Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
Rank |
Institution |
Points (First-Place Votes) |
| 1. | Salisbury | 25 (5) |
| 2. | York | 20 (1) |
| 3. | Christopher Newport | 18 |
| 4. | St. Mary's | 10 |
| 5. | Southern Virginia | 9 |
| 6. | Mary Washington | 8 |
Below is a brief preview of each team entering the 2020 campaign:
1) SALISBURY enters the 2020 season as the top-ranked team in the nation, according to the USILA Preseason Poll, and the second-ranked squad in Division III in the U.S. Lacrosse preseason rankings. The Sea Gulls return six All-Americans, including 2019 National Faceoff Specialist of the Year and CAC Player of the Year in senior Brett Malamphy. Malamphy finished the season with a faceoff win percentage of 73.1, which ranked sixth in the nation.
Senior Josh Melton and junior Cross Ferrara return to lead the Salisbury offense. Melton led the CAC in points (118) and assists (52) a season ago. Ferrara and Melton finished second and third in goals in 2019 with 69 and 66 goals respectively.
Seniors Kevin Murphy and Brad Greik along with junior Brad Apgar return to lead a defense that allowed double-digit goals only five times last season and ranked eighth in the country with a 7.38 goals-against average,
Returning Starters: Eight
Returning All-CAC performers: Nine
Brett Malamphy, Faceoff Specialist, CAC Player of the Year, 1x First Team
Josh Melton, Attacker,1x First Team
Kevin Murphy, Long-stick Midfielder, 2x First Team
Brad Apgar, Defense, 1x First Team
Brad Greik, Defensive Midfield, 1x First Team
Cross Ferrara, Attacker, 1x Second Team
Drew Borkowicz, Defense, 1x Second Team
Griffin Moroney, Attacker, 1x Second Team
Brandon Warren, Goalkeeper, 1x Honorable Mention
Returning All-Region performers: Five
Brett Malamphy, Faceoff Specialist, 1x First Team
Josh Melton, Attacker, 1x First Team
Brad Apgar, Defense, 1x First Team
Kevin Murphy, Long-stick Midfielder, 1x First Team, 1x Second Team
Brad Greik, Defensive Midfield, 1x First Team
Returning All-Americans: Six
Brett Malamphy, Faceoff Specialist, 1x First Team
Josh Melton, Attacker, 1x First Team
Brad Apgar, Defense, 1x First Team
Kevin Murphy, Long-stick Midfielder, 1x Second Team
Brad Greik, Defensive Midfield, 1x Second Team
Cross Ferrara, Attacker, 1x Honorable Mention
2) The YORK COLLEGE men's lacrosse team enters the 2020 season a much different than the one that fell to the eventual national champions in the NCAA Quarterfinals last May.
Head coach Brandon Childs must replace 66% of his offensive output from last season while also replacing the USILA Division III Defensive Player of the Year in Kevin Witchey.
Childs will turn to a strong midfield unit headlined by Dylan Wolf, Gunnar Reynolds, Eric Ranck, and Eban Ordakowski. Wolf is York's top returning scorer at 35 points while Reynolds notched 27.
Defensively, the Spartans will be anchored by the CAC Rookie of the Year in goalie Jack Michael as he returns for his sophomore year. Michael started all 22 games as he registered a goals against average of 7.66 and a 54.2% save percentage. Nick Roman, Ryan Kennedy and Mason Smith will anchor York's close defense unit. Defensive midfielder Danny O'Connell will headline another strength of York.
The Spartan attack will feature a number of newcomers, many of who will be expected to contribute to the offensively from game one.
Number of returning starters: 4 (Ryan Kennedy, Jack Michael, Gunnar Reynolds, Dylan Wolf)
Notable statistics: The Spartans graduated six USILA All-Americans including national defender of the year Kevin Witchey ... York graduated 66% of their points from 2019.
Returning All-CAC performers:
Jack Michael (ROY, 2019 2nd Team)
Danny O'Connell (2019, 2nd Team)
Nick Roman (2019, 2nd Team, 2018 1st Team)
Danny O'Connell (2019, 3rd Team)
Number of returning starters: 7
Notable statistics: Scott McAneney led the CAC with a .580 save percentage last season, while Phoenix Hines ranked first in the conference and sixth nationally with 57 caused turnovers.
Returning All-CAC performers:
- Scott McAneney, GK, 2019 1st-Team All-CAC
- Brady Altobello, M, 2019 2nd-Team All-CAC
- Dylan Rice, A, 2019 2nd-Team All-CAC, 2018 2nd-Team All-CAC
- Will Stockhausen, M, 2019 2nd-Team All-CAC
- Max Wayne, D, 2019 2nd-Team All-CAC, 2018 2nd-Team All-CAC
Returning All-Americans:
- Scott McAneney, GK, 2019 Honorable Mention USILA All-American
- Dylan Rice, A, 2019 Honorable Mention USILA All-American
- Max Wayne, D, 2019 Honorable Mention USILA All-American
Returning Starters: 7
Notable Statistics:
Jude Brown: 16th in the CAC in points with 60 (led team), sixth in the CAC in assists with 33 (led team)
Erich Wuesthoff: led team with 32 goals
Luke McWright: returning leader on the team in ground balls with 50
Tommy Rinder: returning leader on the team in ground balls with 50, led team in caused turnovers with 22
Alex Pfaff: led team in caused turnovers with 22
5) After a 5-13, 0-6 CAC season, SOUTHERN VIRGINIA is looking to make a run in Capital Athletic Conference play with a strong core of returning players. The Knights return USILA Warrior/New Balance All-American Zach Danneman who led the CAC in goals in 2019. Joining Danneman is Shawn Lamb who earned an All-CAC Second Team spot in 2019. The duo of Tennison Schmidt and Chandler Wescott will also look to elevate the Knights offense as they combined for 124 points. Southern Virginia University's offense looks to continue to impress after placing second in the CAC in goals per game with 14.6 behind Salisbury. On defense, Southern Virginia returns starters Jacob Lamb and Kyle Fujikawa.
Number of returning starters: 9
Notable Statistics:
Zach Danneman: No. 1 goal scorer in 2019 (77), No. 2 in total points in 2019 (96), No. 3 in goals in NCAA 2019 (77), No. 16 in points in NCAA 2019 (96)
Shawn Lamb: No. 1 in total points in 2018 (87), No. 2 in assists in 2018 (41)
Returning All-CAC Performers:
Zach Danneman: CAC Rookie of the Year 2016, All-CAC First Team 2019, VaSID All-State Second Team 2019, USILA New Balance/Warrior All-American Team
Shawn Lamb: CAC Rookie of the Year 2017, All-CAC Second Team 2017, All-CAC First Team 2018, All-CAC Second Team 2019
6) MARY WASHINGTON will look to improve upon their 7-11 record from last season. The Eagles lost some key seniors to graduation, but head coach Drew Delaney expects his new group to replace them. Chase Kapuscienski, Sam Pugliese, and Logan Green highlight the list of returners.
Number of Returning Starters: 3