ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Nazareth's men's lacrosse team, coming off its seventh Empire 8 Conference title and 18th NCAA Tournament appearance, has been selected as the favorite to capture the 2010 E8 title, according to a pre-season poll of the league's head coaches.
Nazareth returns three first-team all-conference players in attackman
Mark DeCirce, midfielder
Scott Castle and long-stick middie
Kyle Brown. The Golden Flyers drew seven of the nine first-place votes for a total of 63 points. Ithaca was picked second after getting the remaining two first-place votes and totaling 56 points. Stevens (48 points) and St. John Fisher (41) rounded out the top four.
Nazareth is ranked 15th in the national pre-season poll released by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. Ithaca is 14th with RIT, St. John Fisher and Stevens also receiving votes. In the LaxPower Forum poll, Nazareth is 13th, Ithaca 15th and RIT 20th with Fisher and Stevens also receiving votes.
Nazareth finished 11-7 in 2009 and finished fourth in the E8 regular-season standings. The Golden Flyers then recorded road wins at top-seeded Ithaca and third-seeded Fisher to secure the title and the automatic berth to the NCAAs.
Nazareth opens its season with a non-conference game against Springfield Feb. 27 at 1 p.m.
| Empire 8 Conference pre-season poll |
| 1. Nazareth (7 first-place votes) |
63 points |
| 2. Ithaca (2) |
56 |
| 3. Stevens |
48 |
| 4. St. John Fisher |
41 |
| 5. RIT |
40 |
| 6. Hartwick |
29 |
| 7. Utica |
24 |
| 8. Alfred |
15 |
| 9. Elmira |
8 |
