WINTHROP, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team was picked to finish 10th in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the league office on Friday afternoon. 

Last spring, Albertus finished with a 5-11 overall record, with wins over MCLA, Cairn University, Eastern Nazarene College, Mitchell College, and Regis (Mass.) College.  

With their talented core of players returning, including trusty goaltender Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.), attackmen Jon Olson (Bellmore, N.Y.) and Charles Stewart (Stratford, Conn.), and midfielder Zaheim Wilkins (Mastic Beach, N.Y.), the Falcons earned 19 points in this year's preseason rankings, finishing in 10th place, two points ahead of Regis (Mass.) College. 

Norwich University took the top spot in the rankings, earning 119 points and 10 of the 11 possible first-place votes. Rivier University claimed the second slot with 104 points and the last first-place vote. 

Lasell University took third place with 97 points, while Dean College captured fourth with 79 points. Emmanuel (Mass.) College and Saint Joseph's College of Maine took fifth and sixth place in the rankings, finishing with 70 and 67 points, respectively. 

Johnson & Wales University, University of Saint Joseph's (CT), and Anna Maria College closed out the GNAC rankings, finishing seventh, eighth, and ninth in the rankings and collecting 61, 56, and 37 points.  

2023 GNAC MLAX Preseason Poll
1. Norwich (10) - 119
2. Rivier (1) - 104
3. Lasell - 97
4. Dean - 79
5. Emmanuel - 70
6. Saint Joseph's Maine - 67
7. JWU - 61
8. USJ CT - 56
9. Anna Maria - 37
10. Albertus Magnus - 19
11. Regis - 17