WAUKESHA, Wis. – Marian University men’s lacrosse received 100 points to finish fifth in the MLC preseason poll, as voted on by the head coaches of the league.
Aurora received seven of the 13 first-place votes and 138 total points in the preseason poll to be the favorite to win the league. The Spartans finished a game back of first place last year with a 10-1 record in conference play (13-4 overall) and were also runner-up in the MLC Tournament. Concordia University Wisconsin (15-4, 11-0 MLC) won both the regular season and tournament titles in 2019, which snapped the Spartans’ streaks, both regular and postseason, of six consecutive.
Concordia Wisconsin was second in the poll with 131 points and four of the top votes, while Benedictine University was picked third with 128 points and a pair of top nods.
MSOE was fourth with 108 points, Marian University fifth with 100 and University of Northwestern-St. Paul was sixth with 84.
Beloit College was tabbed seventh with 73 points, Monmouth College eighth with 66 and Concordia University Chicago was ninth with 63.
Cornell College followed in 10th with 48 points, Illinois Tech 11th with 34 and Fontbonne University 12th with 26. North Central University filled the last spot with 15.
The MLC’s regular-season standings determine the teams that qualify for the six-team conference tournament, while the tournament champion receives the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA III Championship Tournament.
Marian opens the season at home Saturday, Feb. 22 when the Sabres take on Northland at 4 p.m. in non-conference action.
2020 MLC Preseason Poll
1. Aurora (7), 138
2. Concordia Wisconsin (4), 131
3. Benedictine (2), 128
4. MSOE, 108
5. Marian, 100
6. Northwestern, 84
7. Beloit, 73
8. Monmouth, 66
9. Concordia Chicago, 63
10. Cornell, 48
11. Illinois Tech, 34
12. Fontbonne, 26
13. North Central, 15
First-place votes in parentheses
Voted by the conference’s head coaches, who could not vote for their own team
12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point scale used
–FightBlueFight—
