Mariners Lax Picked Third by NAC Coaches

CASTINE, Maine – Maine Maritime Academy was picked to finish third in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) men's lacrosse standings by the league's head coaches. The Mariners picked up one first place vote, finishing behind Castleton State College and New England College.

Castleton State was chosen to defend its back-to-back NAC crowns. The Spartans garnered 81 total points and a pair of first place votes. New to the conference this season, New England College received the lion's share of first-place votes with six.

Under the direction of new head coach, Adam Sherman, Maine Maritime will look to the experience of seven starters, including two-time Player of the Year Andrew DiSalvo, 2011 Defensive Player of the Year Erik Milles, and 2010 Rookie of the Year Tom Houle. MMA was picked to finish second in the league in the Inside Lacrosse 2012 Faceoff Yearbook back in January.

The Spartans return eight starters from last year's squad, which was a perfect 7-0 in conference play, but will have to replace the talents of all-conference face-off specialist Craig MacDerment who finished sixth in the nation in face-off win percentage and ninth in ground balls per game. Returning to lead the Spartan offense are 2011 NAC Co-Player of the Year Nohea King and 2011 Rookie of the Year Alex Green who ranked first and second in scoring last year, combing for 137 points.

New England College returns five starters in 2012 including preseason All-American Honorable Mention Greg Jacques to anchor the defense. The Pilgrims will have to replace much of the team's offense from 2011, including Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year and All-American Honorable Mention attack John Gabriel. Although new to the conference this year, the Pilgrims are familiar foes having competed against a pair of NAC opponents last season.

The Mariners open the season on March 2nd at Farmingdale State. Maine Maritime will host Southern Maine for the home opener on St. Patrick's Day. That, and all of Maine Maritime's home games, will be streamed live on MarinerSports.org.

2012 NAC Men's Lacrosse Coaches Poll

Note: Points are awarded in descending order with first-place votes (in parentheses) earning 9 points through ninth -place votes which are worth one point.