EDISON, New Jersey - The Marist men's lacrosse team has been picked second in the 2024 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coaches Preseason Poll. The Red Foxes earned 91 points in the poll, with four first-place votes.
Last season, the men's lacrosse team finished third in the regular season with a 6-3 MAAC record. In the conference tournament, the Red Foxes won three consecutive games to be crowned as the MAAC Tournament champions for the fourth time in program history and for the third time under Head Coach Keegan Wilkinson.
Following the MAAC Championship victory, the Red Foxes advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history. Marist took on Delaware in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament and came up short on the road.
|
|
| Votes (First Place Votes) |
|
|
| 1 |
Siena |
92 (5) |
| 2 |
Marist |
91 (4) |
| 3 |
Manhattan |
71 |
| 4 |
Mount St. Mary's |
66 |
| 5 |
Quinnipiac |
65 (1) |
| 6 |
Sacred Heart |
59 |
| 7 |
LIU |
43 |
| 8 |
Virginia Military |
29 |
| 9 |
Canisius |
20 |
| 10 |
Wagner |
14 |
Marist returns two players named to the MAAC All-Championship Team last season in captains Kurt Wessner and Joshua Balcarcel. Wessner gas played in 43 games for the Red Foxes, collecting 41 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers. Last season he played and started in a career-high 18 games, where he picked up nine caused turnovers and a career-best 20 ground balls.
Balcarcel will don the number 34 for the upcoming season to honor the legacy of the late Eddie Coombs. This announcement was made at the start of preseason for the team, and Balcarcel was awarded the jersey by Tina and Eric Coombs, the parents of Eddie Coombs, who was also in attendance for the announcement and jersey presentation. Balcarcel enjoyed a breakout junior campaign that featured 21 goals scored and 12 assists while making appearances in all of Marist's 18 games that season. Balcarcel shined brightest on the biggest stage, earning MAAC All-Championship Team honors after tallying hat tricks in the MAAC Semifinals and MAAC Championship to help lead Marist to its fourth-ever MAAC Tournament title.
The Red Foxes will play 14 games during the regular season with seven of them being at Tenney Stadium and seven on the road.
For the first time in program history the Red Foxes will open up their season at home against Bucknell on Feb. 10. In last year's matchup against their Patriots League rival, Marist won its first game ever against Bucknell 14-11.
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Instagram or visit goredfoxes.com/sports/mens-lacrosse.
