2021 Nike/US Lacrosse Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll
2021 USILA Preseason Poll
Five Liberty League Men’s Lacrosse programs—Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Union College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), St. Lawrence University and Ithaca College—were featured in 2021 preseason polls. RIT, Union and RPI were recognized in both the Nike/US Lacrosse and the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) polls while St. Lawrence and Ithaca join the Tigers, Dutchmen and Engineers in the USILA poll.
In the Nike/US Lacrosse poll, RIT headlines the trio of teams ranked, checking in at third. Union was among the top-ten at No. 10 and RPI was No. 17 in the list of 20 teams. In the USILA poll, RIT is also ranked third while Union earned the nod at No. 11. St. Lawrence is among the top-20 at No. 17 while RPI and Ithaca round out the five teams by receiving votes.
RIT was 4-0 in 2020, including a win in Liberty League play in the abbreviated season before the remainder of the season was cancelled in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the Tigers (20-2, 8-0 Liberty League) captured their eighth straight Liberty League title since joining the league eight years ago. They reached the NCAA tournament for the tenth consecutive year and advanced to the quarterfinals before falling in overtime.
Union kicked off the 2020 campaign with four wins in its first five games for a 4-1 mark before the remainder of the season was cancelled. The Dutchmen finished 2019 as the Liberty League runner-up and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. They posted an overall record 14-4 and 6-1 in league play.
RPI played six games through March 11, 2020 and the Engineers were sporting an overall record of 4-2 before all spring sports were halted. In 2019, the Engineers went 12-5 (5-3 Liberty League) and reached the conference semifinals.
St. Lawrence kicked off the 2020 season with three straight victories (3-0) before the season ended. The Saints appeared in the Liberty League tournament for the eighth straight season in 2019, where they compiled a record of 13-4 (5-3 Liberty League) and advanced to the semifinals.
Ithaca started 2020 with five games, where the Bombers went 2-3, including an 11-9 win over then No. 3 Cabrini University before the season ended. The Bombers wrapped up 2019 with its second consecutive trip to the Liberty League postseason in just two years with the conference. The Bombers went 8-6 overall and 5-3 in league play.