BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the ninth-straight year, the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds men's lacrosse team has been selected as the 2022 Patriot League men's lacrosse preseason favorite with 126 points and 14 first-place votes. Army West Point had three student-athletes garner major award accolades while Lehigh earned one award, when honors were announced on Monday.
Lehigh earned the second spot in the poll with 109 points and two first-place votes, while Army also tallied two first-place votes to go with 105 points. Navy placed fourth with 87 points as Boston University followed with 69 points to round out the top five. Colgate earned 53 points for sixth place, followed by Bucknell (49), Lafayette (26) and Holy Cross (16).
Army senior attack Brendan Nichtern was named the 2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Offensive Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season, teammate senior defender Marcus Hudgins earned preseason defensive player of the year and senior goalkeeper Wyatt Schupler was named preseason goalkeeper of the year.
Lehigh senior faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger rounded out the major awards as the preseason faceoff specialist of the year.
Loyola led the way with six players on the 16-member preseason all-league team: graduate student attackers Kevin Lindley and Aidan Olmstead, junior midfielder Evan James, defender senior Cam Wyers, graduate student long-stick midfielder Ryan McNulty, and senior short-stick defensive midfielder Payton Rezanka.
Army placed four players on the all-league team, Lehigh had three players, Navy had two players and Bucknell placed one.
Black Knights' Nichtern, Hudgins, Schupler was joined by senior midfielder Bobby Abshire, while Lehigh senior attack Tommy Schelling, graduate student defender Teddy Leggett and Sisselberger also earned a spot on the preseason team.
Junior midfielder Patrick Skalniak and sophomore defender Jackson Bonitz of Navy, plus Bucknell senior midfielder Harry Wellford round out the 16-member preseason all-league squad.
The preseason poll and individual awards were voted on by the men's lacrosse coaches and sports information directors from each institution, with restrictions on voting for their team and student-athletes.
2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Jr., A, Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa
* Nichtern led the team in goals (26), assists (31) and points (57) last season, to go with 10 ground balls and two caused turnovers.
* Last season, the senior ranked first in the League in total assists, assists per game (2.82) and points per game (5.18), while his assists per game tally also ranked sixth in the country.
* Recently named to the Tewaaraton Preseason Top 10 Watch List, Nichtern heads into his senior campaign with 75 goals, 108 assists for 183 points to go with 48 ground balls.
2021 Season Awards: Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, All-Patriot League First Team member, four-time Patriot League Player of the Week, Tewaaraton Award Top 25,
Inside Lacrosse All-American, USILA Third Team All-American, USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American
2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Marcus Hudgins, Army West Point, Sr., Defender, Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee (USMAPS)
* Hudgins posted 26 ground balls and a team-leading 23 caused turnovers in 11 games last season.
* Hudgins, the reigning defensive player of the year, ranked 10th in the nation in caused turnovers per game (2.09) while he helped back a fifth-ranked scoring defense in the nation (9.27 goals allowed per game).
* In 37 career games, he has 58 caused turnovers and 97 ground balls.
2021 Season Awards: Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, All-Patriot League First Team member, two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week,
Inside Lacrosse Third Team All-American, USILA Second Team All-American, USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American
2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Faceoff Specialist of the Year
Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Sr., Faceoff Specialist, Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh
* Sisselberger won 225-of-283 faceoffs for Lehigh for a .795 winning percentage, good for first in the nation.
* The senior also led Division I in groundballs per game with 13.33.
* Sisselberger holds both Lehigh's and the Patriot League's record for groundballs in a season (160) an. His 21 ground balls game in the 14-11 win against Lafayette on April 18.
2021 Season Awards: Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year, All-Patriot League First Team member, USILA First-Team All-American,
Inside Lacrosse First Team All-American, USA Lacrosse First Team Magazine All-American, three-time USILA National Team of the Week member
2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Sr., GK, Ponte Verda Beach, Fla./Ponte Verda
* In 11 appearances in goal, Schupler finished his junior year with 132 total saves, a .569 save percentage and a 9.30 goals-against average mark.
* The goalkeeper's save percentage ranked third in the Patriot League and 10th in the country, while his GAA was good for second in the League and eighth in the NCAA.
* He also picked up 26 ground balls last season for the Black Knights.
* Schupler heads into his season year with a 13-6 record, an 8.46 goals-against average mark and a .586 save percentage.
2021 Season Awards: All-Patriot League Second Team member, three-time Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week,
Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-American
2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Sr.
2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Marcus Hudgins, Army West Point, Sr.
2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Faceoff Specialist of the Year: Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Sr.
2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year: Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Sr.
2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason All-Patriot League Team
Student-athletes are listed by position; then alphabetically by school
Attack: Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Sr.
Attack: Tommy Schelling, Lehigh, Sr.
Attack: Kevin Lindley, Loyola Maryland, Gr.
Attack: Aidan Olmstead, Loyola Maryland, Gr.
Midfielder: Bobby Abshire, Army West Point, Sr.
Midfielder: Harry Wellford, Bucknell, Sr.
Midfielder: Evan James, Loyola Maryland, Jr.
Midfielder: Patrick Skalniak, Navy, Jr.
Defense: Marcus Hudgins, Army West Point, Sr.
Defense: Teddy Leggett, Lehigh, Gr.
Defense: Cam Wyers, Loyola Maryland, Sr.
Defense: Jackson Bonitz, Navy, So.
Goalie: Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Sr.
FaceOff Specialist: Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Sr.
Long-Stick Midfielder: Ryan McNulty, Loyola Maryland, Gr.
Short-Stick Defensive Midfielder: Payton Rezanka, Loyola Maryland, Sr.
2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
Loyola Maryland – 126 (14 first-place votes)
Lehigh – 109 (2)
Army West Point – 105 (2)
Navy - 87
Boston University - 69
Colgate - 53
Bucknell - 49
Lafayette - 26
Holy Cross - 16
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League's athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.