ROYAL OAK, MICH.—Trine's men's lacrosse team was picked to finish third in the MIAA in the league's preseason poll, which was released Thursday.
The Thunder received 17 points in the poll. Defending league champ Adrian was picked to repeat as conference champion, while Albion earned the second spot. The Thunder will begin a new era under head coach Karl Zimmerman, who enters his first season at the helm of the Trine men's lacrosse program. The team will be looking to improve upon last season's mark, which saw the team finish 8-8 overall and 4-2 in the MIAA. That mark was good enough for third in the league.
Gone from last season's squad is leading-scorer Dalton Madsen, but the Thunder look to have the firepower to score, as their next six leading-scorers all return. Headlining that group is Patrick Walker (Round Lake Park, Ill./Grayslake North) , the team's top returning scorer. Paul Carlquist (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South), George Youpel (Chicago Ridge, Ill./St. Rita), Jack Brown (Middletown, Ohio/Archbishop Archer) and Chris Ward (Oak Law, Ill./St. Rita) all figured prominently in the Thunder attack last season and will be expected to fill a similar role in 2014.
First-Team All-MIAA performer Rob Brzezinski (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) returns to give the Thunder an outstanding weapon in the faceoff circle. Brzezinski led the MIAA in faceoff-win percentage a year ago, winning nearly 75 percent of his faceoffs. Anchoring the defense will be Second-Team All-MIAA defender Jordan Backer (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville).
Trine opens the season Saturday, Feb. 22 at John Carroll. Faceoff is set for 1:00 p.m. The home-opener will come Wednesday, Mar. 19 when the Thunder host Wooster. Conference play opens Tuesday, Apr. 1 with a home-date against Olivet.
MIAA Preseason Poll
1. Adrian (6)- 6 pts
2. Albion (1)- 11 pts
3. Trine- 17 pts
4. Hope- 21 pts
5. Olivet- 26 pts
T-6. Alma- 33 pts
T-6. Calvin- 33 pts