Saints Tabbed Top Team in MAAC
    Siena Men's Lacrosse Team Selected to Finish First According to Inside Lacrosse Preseason Poll
    2007 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Matt Girsh
     
    2007 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Matt Girsh
      

    Dec. 10, 2007

    LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - The Siena men's lacrosse team was selected as the team to beat in the MAAC according the 2008 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook. The Saints were picked to finish first overall in the poll, and placed five players on the Preseason All-Conference team. Siena graduated just one starter from last year's squad that secured the program's first MAAC Regular Season Championship.

    "It is certainly nice to receive this honor in the preseason, but it is the results at the end of the year that really counts," explained head coach Brian Brecht. "Our goal is to prepare for each and every game in the same manner to allow us the opportunity to compete for a MAAC Championship in May."

    Junior attackman Matt Girsh (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac), the 2007 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, was picked to the Preseason All-Conference team. Fellow classmates Kenny Mazzone (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Chris Viviano (New Hyde Park, N.Y./Chaminade) also earned this prestigious honor. Sophomores Brent Herbst (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK) and Shaun Dunn (Amityville, N.Y./Chaminade), Second Team All-MAAC performers last season, were selected to repeat as All-League candidates. Herbst was named the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year after posting a league best 7.86 goals against average over 14 games in net.

    The Saints posted a 10-6 overall record last season which marked the program's first winning season since 1983. Siena finished with a 7-1 league mark earning the top-seed for its first MAAC Tournament appearance since joining the league in 1996. The Saints' season came to a halt prematurely as they fell to two-time defending champion Providence in the semifinals.

     

     

    Siena opens the 2008 campaign with a pair of home contests against Presbyterian (Feb. 16) and Harvard (Feb. 23), before heading across town to square off with UAlbany on Feb. 26. The Saints will look to earn a spot in the 2008 MAAC Championships which will be hosted by Siena College on May 2 and 4.
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