Courtesy of Loyola Maryland Athletic Communications

SPARKS, Md. – Just over five weeks before the 2019 season's first game, Loyola University Maryland senior attacker Pat Spencer was named the NCAA Division I Preseason Player of the Year by Warrior/USLacrosse on Thursday.
 
In his three years on the Evergreen campus, Spencer has put his mark on the Loyola and Patriot League record books. Last season, he set the school and conference records for career assists (166) while also recording a new single-season standard for assists (59).
 
He is the Patriot League's all-time leader in points (266), a category in which he stands second at Loyola behind Gary Hanley's 311 from 1978-81. Spencer's assist total ranks 10^th in NCAA Division I history, and his points are tied for 28^th.
 
The senior from Davidsonville, Maryland, is a three-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American, earning first team recognition each of the last two seasons in which he was also a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award.
 
Spencer is also a three-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, and he was the recipient of the USILA's Lt. Col. J.I. (Jack) Turnbull Award as the nation's top attacker in 2018.
 
The Greyhounds open the season with a top-10 matchup on Saturday, February 9, when they host the University of Virginia at Ridley Athletic Complex. The game is a rematch of the 2018 NCAA Championships First Round contest that the Greyhounds won, 14-12.