UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) released the USILA/Nike 2017 Coaches preseason poll on Monday afternoon, with Penn State men’s lacrosse entering the season ranked No. 15 in the season’s opening poll.
Penn State is one of five teams from the Big Ten represented in the poll. Maryland enters the season ranked second; Johns Hopkins is tied for eighth, while Rutgers and Ohio State trail Penn State, ranked 16th and 17th, respectively.
Penn State, ranked No. 16 by Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook released earlier last month, was predicted to finish third in the conference by the publication. Senior attackman Nick Aponte was named to the Inside Lacrosse preseason all-conference team last week.
The 2017 team returns a host of players from the year prior including eight players who started each game of the 2016 season. Among the familiar names are last year’s goals leader in Aponte and the team’s assists and points leader in sophomore Grant Ament. Penn State’s primary defensive trio of junior Mike Aronow, senior Peter Triolo and sophomore Christopher Sabia all return along with last season’s primary goalkeeper junior Will Schreiner.
Penn State begins the regular season in University Park against Robert Morris at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3.