Central Islip, N.Y. – The defending ECC
Champion, LIU Post Pioneers, narrowly outpaced their Northern
Boulevard rival, New York Institute of Technology Bears, to earn
the top spot in the ECC Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll. NYIT
teammates, junior attacker Luke Miller (Mastic, N.Y.) and senior
defender Danny McDermott (Vancouver, B.C.), have been named the
Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year for the
second consecutive year.
LIU Post and NYIT, both NCAA Tournament participants in 2013,
almost evenly split the first place votes of the conference's
coaches with the Pioneers grabbing five to the Bears' four. That
led to a one point differential in the poll, with LIU Post coming
out on top by a 77-76 margin. The Pioneers finished with an
unblemished 7-0 ECC mark (11-3 overall) in 2013, while NYIT boasted
a 6-1 ECC record (12-3 overall).
Dowling, the 2012 NCAA Division II National Champion, rounds out
the top-three with 55 points.
The 2014 season will be the first-ever that the ECC will decide
its conference champion with a post-season tournament. The ECC will
host its first ever Men's Lacrosse Championship with semifinals
taking place at the two highest seeds on April 30th, and the final
being hosted by LIU Post on May 3rd.
The conference's preseason awards have a familiar look as Miller
and McDermott were honored as the Player of the Year and Defensive
Player of the Year, respectively, after the 2013 season. Both
Miller and McDermott were also recognized with United States
Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-America First Team honors
for their outstanding 2013 seasons.
After winning the ECC Rookie of the Year honor in 2012, Miller's
follow-up sophomore campaign was even better. In 15 games, Miller
finished third in the conference with 44 goals and second with 42
assists for a conference leading total of 86 points. Miller also
led all of Division II with 5.73 points per game and ranked second
with 2.80 assists per game.
McDermott was a shut-down defender for the Bears, leading Division
II with 2.73 caused turnovers per game. He also led the ECC with 41
caused turnovers and finished fourth in scooping up 69 ground
balls.
2014 East Coast
Conference Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. | 2013 Record |
| 1. LIU Post (5) | 77 | 11-3 (7-0 ECC) |
| 2. New York Institute of Technology (4) | 76 | 12-3 (6-1 ECC) |
| 3. Dowling | 55 | 7-6 (3-4 ECC) |
| 4. Chestnut Hill | 51 | 7-6 (4-3 ECC) |
| 5. Molloy | 50 | 10-4 (3-4 ECC) |
| 6. Mercy | 41 | 11-4 (4-3 ECC) |
| 7. Roberts Wesleyan | 28 | 5-12 (1-6 ECC) |
| 8. Dominican | 15 | 0-12 (0-7 ECC) |
| 9. District of Columbia | 12 | n/a (n/a) * |
( ) - first place votes
* - inaugural season in 2014
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Luke
Miller, Jr., A., NYIT
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Danny
McDermott, Sr., D, NYIT
