Feb. 11, 2008

Loudonville, N.Y. - The Siena men's lacrosse team was chosen as the team to beat by the conference's nine head coaches in the 2008 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll released by conference headquarters. The Saints received 79 out of a possible 81 points in the poll which also named junior attackman Matt Girsh as the Preseason Player of the Year. Joining Girsh on the Preseason All-MAAC team are teammates Ryan Duggan, Chris Viviano, Shaun Dunn and Brent Herbst.

"It is certainly nice to receive this honor in the preseason, but it is the results at the end of the year that really counts," explained head coach Brian Brecht. "Our goal is to prepare for each and every game in the same manner to allow us the opportunity to compete for a MAAC Championship in May."

The Saints, who only lost one starter to graduation in the off-season, posted a 10-6 overall record last year which marked the program's first winning season since 1983. Siena finished with a 7-1 league mark, earning the top-seed for its first MAAC Tournament appearance since joining the league in 1996.

Providence College, who upset the Saints in last year's MAAC Tournament, was picked to finish a distant second with 66 points, while Canisius was chosen third, garnering 62 points.

Girsh, who was named the 2007 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, finished last season with a league leading 2.94 goals per game average as well as four game winning goals. Herbst meanwhile earned Co-Rookie of the Year accolades last season as the Saints' leading goalkeeper while posting a league best 7.86 goals against average over 14 games in net. Duggan and Dunn rank second and third among the Green and Gold's returning goal scorers from a year ago, with 23 and 21 goals respectively. Viviano meanwhile started all 16 games a year ago on the Saints defensive front, collecting 49 ground balls.

"All five of these student athletes played big roles for us last year in the success that we had," added Brecht. "It's a great honor for each of them, but we're still young and growing as a program. My hope and the challenge to them will be that they perform to this level that is expected of them throughout the year and are able to earn these same honors at the end of this season."

This is the second time the Saints have been picked to win the MAAC this season. The 2008 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook also selected the Saints to capture the league crown this season.

The Saints start regular season competition on Saturday at noon with the season opener against Presbyterian at Siena Turf Field.