Dec. 11, 2007

Erie, Pa. - For the second consecutive season, Inside Lacrosse Magazine has picked the Mercyhurst College men's lacrosse team as the preseason favorite to win the East Coast Conference Championship. As well, the magazine named David Osier, Matt Spahr and Jason LaShomb to the preseason all-conference team.

A year ago, the Lakers went 13-2, rolled to a 6-0 mark in the ECC, and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship game, losing to Le Moyne 6-5. Despite graduating the bulk of its offense from 2007, Mercyhurst was picked to win the conference ahead of second-place New York Institute of Technology, a team the Lakers defeated 13-10 in the NCAA Division II semifinals a year ago. Dowling was picked to finish third, followed by C.W. Post, Molloy, Adelphi and Dominican.

After advancing to the semifinals in three of the past four years, Mercyhurst should be poised for another strong season as the squad returns the majority of its defense and midfield. A year ago, the offense ran through Osier and he led the squad with 37 assists and 51 points. He will asked to carry an even larger offensive load as the Lakers graduated their top three goal scorers in Bryon Lindner, Adam Mulherin and Scott Janssen.

Spahr was named second team all-conference last year as a member of the second-ranked defense in the country. While the team did graduate Joe Thon, the Division II Defensive Player of the Year, the Mercyhurst defense might not miss a beat as the squad expects to return Brian Perkins, a preseason honorable mention All-American a year ago who missed all of 2007 due to injury.

LaShomb is just a junior but is one of the top goaltenders in the country. He was named one of Inside Lacrosse's Top 10 Players To Watch for the upcoming season. According to the magazine, LaShomb "will be the favorite to take home national Goalie of the Year honors."

The Mercyhurst men's lacrosse team opens the season Feb. 24 at Queens (N.C.) at 2 p.m. The Lakers will get a rematch with Le Moyne on the road March 9 and the team opens the season at home against Limestone March 16 at 1 p.m.