Moon Township, Pa. – Coming off back-to-back Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament championships, the Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team was selected to finish on top of the NEC West Division in the annual Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league in a release Wednesday afternoon.
With the additions of Long Island, Merrimack, and New Jersey Institute of Technology, the 10-team conference has split into East and West divisions. Robert Morris received six of nine possible first-place votes in the West, with Saint Joseph's (three first-place votes), Mount St. Mary's (one first-place vote), NJIT, and LIU rounding out the field in that order. In the East, Hobart was a unanimous choice, with Bryant coming in second, Sacred Heart in third, and a tie between Merrimack and Wagner for fourth.
The new NEC Tournament format features five of the league's 10 teams qualifying, with the fourth seed hosting the fifth seed in a play-in contest. The winner will then make the trip out to the top seed's campus, where the tournament will continue in its traditional format.
RELEASE: #PollWeek: Hobart, Robert Morris Selected Favorites In New Look NEC Men's Lax
RMU returns a pair of All-NEC honorees in 2020, led by senior attackman Ryan Smith. Smith has made three All-NEC teams over his career – including consecutive Second Team nods in 2018 and 2019 – and was the 2017 NEC Rookie of the Year. He finished second on the team in goals (40) and assists (20) last season, and third in points (60), and ranked inside the top 10 of the NEC in each of those categories. Entering his final hurrah, the Burlington, Ontario product is eighth all-time in program history in assists per game (0.82), ninth in points per game (2.36), and 10th in goals per game (1.54).
Junior attackman Corson Kealey was an All-NEC Rookie Team selection in 2018 and captured three NEC Player of the Week honors last season. His 52 goals were a league high and one off tying the school record, while his 62 points were the fourth most in single-season program history. Kealey buried a career-high six goals twice, tallied four goals in the NCAA Tournament at No. 4 Virginia, and will open 2020 with a 19-game point streak. The Ottawa, Ontario native ranks third in Colonial history in goals per game (1.94) and seventh in points per game (2.51).
Sophomore attackman Brandon Sulhoff collected All-NEC Rookie Team plaudits in 2019 after finishing with 10 points (9g, 1a) in a key reserve role. He posted a pair of two-goal efforts and scored once in the NEC Tournament semifinals at top-seeded Mount St. Mary's.
Under the direction of ninth-year head coach Andrew McMinn, RMU will look to replace a stellar senior class that included five All-NEC players and last season's NEC Player of the Year in Tyson Gibson. The Colonials' 2020 roster will lean on the leadership of eight seniors (Trey Arnold, Alex Cash, Ciaron Costello, Brad McCulley, Austin Popovich, Chris Reynolds, James Scane, Smith), with its newcomer class consisting of 13 freshmen and four transfers (three NJCAA, one NCAA Division II).
Robert Morris begins its 16th season as a program on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3:30 p.m. when it travels to Canisius. The Colonials open the home slate of their schedule on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 11:00 a.m. against High Point, and will play a pair of scrimmages at Joe Walton Stadium this Saturday, Feb. 1 against Seton Hill and Denison.
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