MLAX Picked Fifth in B1G Preseason Poll
Jan 27 | Men's Lacrosse
ROSEMONT, Ill. (Jan. 27, 2014) -In anticipation of the inaugural season of Big Ten Lacrosse, three Rutgers captains were selected as Big Ten Conference Preseason Players to Watch, as junior attackman Scott Bieda (Bridgewater, N.J.), senior midfielder Brian Goss (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and senior midfielder Joseph Nardella (Cazenovia, N.Y.) were bestowed with the honor. Additionally, Rutgers was selected fifth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll.
The Scarlet Knights, who had their best season in ten years with an 8-8 mark in 2014, were tabbed fifth out of six squads by the league's coaches. Four Big Ten Conference teams were ranked by the Lax Magazine Preseason Poll: No. 5 Johns Hopkins, No. 8 Maryland, No. 15 Penn State and No. 20 Ohio State.
Bieda is coming off of a stellar sophomore campaign in which he earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors, finishing third in the conference with 1.6 assists per game. Bieda led the Scarlet Knights with 24 assists, and was second on the team overall with 42 points. For his career, he has 32 goals and 37 assists for 69 points in just two seasons.
Goss will be a Rutgers captain for the third consecutive season. The senior has started 43 of his 45 games played at Rutgers. Goss had 16 goals and three assists last season, and in his career he has recorded 40 goals and 19 assists for 59 points.
Nardella was recently named a Preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook and drafted 36th overall by the MLL's Boston Cannons. Last season he was a Second Team All- BIG EAST selection and an Inside Lacrosse Midseason First Team All-American. He notched a .632 (206-of-326) face-off winning percentage, which was the fifth best mark in the nation, and collected 137 ground balls, which ranked fourth in the country at 9.79 per game.
The Scarlet Knights open the season on Feb. 7 at St. John's. The home opener is Feb. 21 against Virginia. The Scarlet Knights will have nine home games at High Point Solutions Stadium, and season tickets remain on sale now .
2015 Big Ten Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
(1) Johns Hopkins
(2) Maryland
(3) Penn State
(4) Ohio State
(5) Rutgers
(6) Michigan
2015 Big Ten Conference Players to Watch
JOHNS HOPKINS
Ryan Brown, Jr., A
Michael Pellegrino, Sr., LSM
Wells Stanwick, Sr., A
MARYLAND
Kyle Bernlohr, Sr., G
Matt Dunn, Jr., D
Charlie Raffa, Sr., M
MICHIGAN
Ian King, So., A
Gerald Logan, So., G
Mikie Schlosser, So., M
OHIO STATE
Carter Brown, Jr., A
Robby Haus, Jr., D
Jesse King, Sr., M
PENN STATE
JP Burnside, Sr., D
Drake Kreinz, So., M
TJ Sanders, Jr., A
RUTGERS
Scott Bieda, Jr., A
Brian Goss, Sr., M
Joseph Nardella, Sr., M
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics ) and Twitter (@RUAthletics ) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's lacrosse, follow the program and Brecht on Twitter (@RUMLax and @RUlaxCoach ) and Facebook . Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on our social media outlets along withwww.ScarletKnights.com .
