PRINCETON, N.J. -- Following its first-ever national championship title and 10th overall in Ivy League history, Yale has been selected as the preseason favorite for the 2019 Ivy League men’s lacrosse season, as chosen by a panel of media representatives.
The Bulldogs, who begin the season as the top-ranked team in both the
Inside Lacrosse Preseason Media Poll and the
United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Coaches Poll, were selected as the top preseason Ivy League team for the third-straight year with 102 points and 13 first-place votes.
No. 5 Cornell was picked second with 90 points and the final two first-place votes. No. 17 Princeton is predicted in the third spot rounded out by Penn, Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth.
The League is the only Division I men’s lacrosse conference with two teams ranked in the top-five of both preseason polls and is 1-of-3 conferences to boast at least three teams ranked among the top-20 joining the ACC and the Big Ten.
Despite graduating an outstanding senior class that included Tewaaraton Award winner
Ben Reeves and five All-Americans who were drafted by Major League Lacrosse teams, No. 1 Yale returns a pair of All-Americans in sophomore Chris Fake and senior Jack Tigh as well as six All-Ivy selections including Matt Gaudet and Jackson Morrill who combined for 81 goals last season. The Bulldogs also reloaded, most notably adding All-American faceoff ace
TD Ierlan as a transfer from Albany.
No. 5 Cornell posted an NCAA first-round win over Syracuse to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals where the Big Red fell to Maryland, 13-8. Cornell returns five All-Ivy selections headlined by first-team All-American
Jeff Teat. A first-team Inside Lacrosse All-American and a unanimous first-team All-Ivy honoree a season ago, Teat finished his sophomore campaign ranked fourth in the nation in assists (3.44) and fifth overall in points (5.50) per game.
After another dominant season, junior
Michael Sowers returns for No. 17 Princeton who looks to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. Sowers broke his own record for points in a season with 83 in 2018, after he scored 27 goals and had 56 assists. He also has the highest career points per game average of any Division I player in the last 37 years.
Despite losing
Connor Keating and
Kevin McGeary to graduate, Penn enters the 2019 season ready to build on its 7-8 overall record and 3-3 Ivy League mark. The Quakers will look to two All-Ivy selections in junior
Mark Evanchick and senior
Simon Mathias. Evanchick caused eight turnovers last season, while Mathias matched his career highs in points (48) and goals (28).
The 2019 Ivy League Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Tournaments will take place on May 3 and 5 in New York City on the campus of Columbia University. Ticket information and game times will be available in the near future. Stay tuned to
IvyLeague.com for the latest information on the 2019 Ivy League Men’s & Women’s Lacrosse Tournaments.
The 2019 campaign gets underway on Feb. 16 with six of the seven teams in action.
2019 IVY LEAGUE MEN’S LACROSSE PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
First-place votes in parentheses
| RANK |
SCHOOL |
POINTS |
| 1. |
Yale (13) |
102 |
| 2. |
Cornell (2) |
90 |
| 3. |
Princeton |
74 |
| 4. |
Penn |
55 |
| 5. |
Brown |
45 |
| 6. |
Harvard |
38 |
| 7. |
Dartmouth |
16 |