FREELAND, Mich.-- The Trine men's lacrosse team was picked to finish fourth in the MIAA Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll, released Tuesday.

The Thunder earned one of the poll's eight available first-place votes. Trine received votes totaling 28 points to tie with Hope for fourth place. The preseason poll is tallied from votes cast by the conference's coaches, who cannot vote for their own team. The Thunder placed sixth in the MIAA last season with a 1-5 mark in conference action. The team returns all three of its all-conference performers from last year.

Jordan Backer (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) and Colin O'Keefe (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) give the Thunder a pair of returning All-MIAA performers to anchor the team's defensive efforts. Backer is a three-time All-MIAA honoree, including back-to-back first team selections the last two seasons. O'Keefe was a second-team performer last spring.

Two-time All-MIAA First Team midfielder Chris Ward (Oak Lawn, Ill./St. Rita) returns to bring his scoring punch from the wing and help pace the team's offensive efforts. The senior has totaled 61 goals over the last two seasons.

Leading scorer Paul Carlquist (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) also returns as a key contributor on the attack. In addition to supplying a team-leading 27 goals, the senior's crafty passing ability produced 15 assists last season.

Jordan Lelito (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago) will look to build off a strong freshman campaign on the face-off after winning 56 percent of his attempts last season.

The Thunder also return goalkeeper Travis Lores (Lake Zurich, Ill./Kildeer), who saw the bulk of the action between the pipes last spring. Lores made 75 saves in his freshman campaign.

Trine also adds 14 freshman to the roster this spring. The newcomers will complement a returning core that includes 12 players who drew starting assignments last season.

The regular season opens Wednesday, Feb. 24 when the Thunder travel to Brighton, Mich. to face Centre College at the Legacy Center. Face-off is slated for 2 p.m. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

Complete results of the MIAA Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll are listed below.