Feb. 19, 2002
2001 Patriot League men's lacrosse champion Bucknell University was selected by the League coaches and Sports Information Directors to make it two in a row this year.
The Bison, who went 10-4 overall last year and won all six PL matches, gained eight first-place votes and four second-place votes to compile 68 points in the pre-season voting. The 14 voters were not allowed to rank their own school on the ballot.
Sid Jamieson earned PL Coach of the Year honors for the second time after guiding the 2001 Bison to their second PL title in the last six years and a berth in the NCAA tournament, where they ended the season with a 12-7 first-round loss vs. Notre Dame.
Bucknell returns four players from the 2001 All-League team, including first-team attack Dennis Geraghty and 2001 Rookie of the Year Wes Fetchet. Second-team All-PL players returning for the Bison are defender Kevin Smithies and goalie Justin Sussman.
Army, which finished third last year but has won seven PL titles in the 11-year history of the League, was picked to finish second in the League with 61 points, followed by 2000 PL champion Hobart with 56 points.
The Academy earned the top vote on five ballots and added four second-place votes. The Black Knights are guided by veteran mentor Jack Emmer, who will also serve as the head coach for Team USA at this summer's world championship tournament.
Leading the Army attack this year will be senior Tim Pearson, the 2001 PL Player of the Year and 1999 PL Rookie of the Year who led the League in assists (39) and points (66) last year. Also returning for the Black Knights is 2001 second-team All-League defender Mike Kamon.
Hobart, in its third year as a member of the PL for lacrosse, drew one first-place vote and six second-place votes. Matt Kerwick, who spent several years as an assistant at Georgetown, returns to his alma mater to take over a team that posted a 5-7 overall record (5-1 PL) on the way to a second-place finish last season. Sophomore attack John Bogosian, who finished third in the League in scoring last season with 48 points, leads the returnees for the Statesmen.
Rounding out the voting were Lehigh (40 points), Colgate (31), Lafayette (24) and Holy Cross (14). Lehigh and Colgate, which tied Lafayette for fourth place in last year's final standings, will both be led by first-year coaches.
Chris Wakely, formerly the head coach at Widener and Elizabethtown colleges, will guide the Mountain Hawks (4-9, 2-4 PL) this season while Jim Nagle, who earned Coach of the Year recognition three times in his seven years at SUNY-Oneonta, takes over the reigns at Colgate (3-10, 2-4 PL).
Lehigh returns first-team All-League midfielder Gabe Osorio along with second-team all-stars Christian Castellani and Tim Gossner to give Wakely a foundation to build upon.
While those two coaches join the League, veteran Lafayette boss Bill Lawson has already announced that the 2002 season will be his last with the Leopards (6-8, 2-4 PL) . Mike McCaffrey returns for his third season at Holy Cross (3-11, 0-6 PL).
The 2002 season opens with five non-League games Saturday, Feb. 23., highlighted by Bucknell (vs. North Carolina), Hobart (at Maryland) and Army (at Syracuse) challenging traditional Top-10 opponents. The first League match is slated for March 9, when the Statesmen visit West Point.
2002 MEN'S LACROSSE PRE-SEASON POLL (first-place votes): 1. Bucknell (8) 68, 2. Army (5) 61, 3. Hobart (1) 56, 4. Lehigh 40, 5. Colgate 31, 6. Lafayette 24, 7. Holy Cross 14.
