Annville, PA (January 27, 2022) - The DeSales University men's lacrosse team has been picked third in the MAC Freedom preseason poll as announced by the conference office and as voted on by the nine men's lacrosse coaches.

The Bulldogs finished third with 49 points, four points behind Misericordia in second place who had 53 points.  Stevens was a unanimous pick to repeat as MAC Freedom champions with eight first place votes and 64 total points.  Arcadia University rounded out the top four with 48 points.

DeSales is coming off a 6-5 2021 season, posting a 4-2 record in the MAC Freedom.  DSU earned a spot in the MAC Freedom postseason defeating Delaware Valley University in the quarterfinals before falling to Stevens in the semifinals.

DSU returns four All-Conference performers from last season including senior Vince Maria who earned All-MAC Freedom First-Team honors and was named a USILA HM All-American as a long pole defender.  He started all 11 games totaling one goal and two assists, while leading the team in both ground balls (43) and caused turnovers (27).  Senior Michael Valencia also returns as a starter on defense after earning HM MAC Freedom honors last season making nine starts and totaling 30 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.

Senior Tom Connors is back after earning All-MAC Freedom Second-Team honors last season with 15 goals and 23 assists for 38 points last season and sophomore Quinten Lyons is back in between the pipes after earning All-MAC Freedom Second-Team honors posting a 11.70 GAA with a .542 save percentage.

In addition seniors Zach Bowen and Nick Bowen are back for a fifth year.  Zack led the team in scoring last season with 43 goals and five assists for 48 points, while Nick has been a fixture on the defensive side of the ball for the last four years.

Head coach Matt Brancaccio is back on the sidelines for his eighth season as the head coach of the Bulldogs.  He boasts a 50-44 (.532) career record, including guiding DSU to its first and only MAC Freedom Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019.

DSU will open its schedule on the road traveling to Stockton University on February 19th and host local rival Muhlenberg College for its home opener on March 2nd.  The MAC Freedom schedule gets underway on Wednesday, March 30th with DSU hosting the defending champs, Stevens.

MAC Freedom Preseason Poll
1 - Stevens - 64 (8)
2 - Misericordia - 53
3 - DeSales - 49
4 - Arcadia - 48
5 - Delaware Valley - 33
6 - Wilkes - 27
7 - Lycoming - 21
8 - King's - 16
9 - FDU-Florham - 13