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Emory Shafted by the Polls

Dec. 15, 2006

On the morning of December 15th, Shamrock Lacrosse and CollegeLAX.us released the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association Preseason Top 25 Polls for divisions A and B. Despite finishing last season with a poll ranking of 23rd and a power ranking of seventh in the nation (among division B teams), Emory failed to get voted into the 2007 preseason top 25. However, the Eagles did rank first among teams receiving honorable mention votes.

Five SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference teams did manage to make it into the Top 25. Last year's conference champion, Eckerd College (who defeated Emory last season by a score of 13-9) currently finds themselves at the number five spot in the polls. The Eagles will travel down to Florida to rematch the Tritons on March 4th. Conference runner-up Elon University came in eighth in the poll. Emory did not play Elon last year and is not scheduled to battle the Phoenix in 2007 either. Also gaining a spot on the polls is Savannah College of Art and Design who is currently ranked 21st in the country. Emory fell to the Bees in a controversial loss last year by a score of 13-12. SCAD will come to Atlanta to face Emory on February 9th. The Mountaineers of Appalachian State earned the 24 spot in the polls. Despite the rivalry that started between the two teams in the 2005 conference semifinals, it seems as though Emory and App. State will not see each other in this year's regular season. Last year the Eagles crushed ASU 12-3. Grasping the final spot in the polls is Davidson College; yet another team Emory does not have on their 2007 schedule.

This year is expected to be the finest season for the Emory Lacrosse team. They return all but one starter from last season and have plenty of weapons in their arsenal. The Eagles return Ryan Covert on defense and Alex Leung on attack. Covert and Leung both earned All America Honors in 2006 and are back in 2007 as juniors.

Emory also will do well to utilize 2006 All Conference midfield performers David Morrison and Curt Simmons. Morrison is back at Emory as a sophomore while Simmons returns as a junior along with Covert and Leung.

Also back for 2007 is David Franklin. Franklin, who transferred to Emory from Drew University in the fall of 2005, finished right behind Leung as the team's second leading scorer in the fall '05 season. Unfortunately, Franklin missed all of last spring due to a leg injury that was suffered in a car accident over last year's winter vacation. After two surgeries and months of rehab, Franklin returned to the field this past fall as a starter at attack and hopes to have a strong and healthy spring.

On defense other returning players to look out for include senior captain, Stephen Crump, senior, Robert Stein, junior, Evan Cropper, and sophomore, Ian Paeth. Crump has been identified as the primary leader of this young Emory squad while Cropper is poised to have an especially strong junior season.

At midfield the team will welcome back senior captain,  William Sant, sophomore,  Kevin Platt, junior, Michael Kowalczyk, and sophomore, Daniel Goetzel. Sant comes off his most productive offensive fall season yet, while Kowalczyk and Goetzel plan to make major contributions on the defensive side of the field. Platt's strength and size tend to make him a dominant force on both offense and defense as long as he is able to stay healthy.

Senior captain, Robert Nugent and sophomore, Jarrett Levy both return to the mix on attack with Leung and Franklin to show the country exactly how the Eagles finished as one of the highest scoring teams in the nation last season. The attack unit will have to work hard however, as it seems as though the team will be missing Eric Horan. Horan, who was given the opportunity to partake in a selective study abroad program, will be in Europe for the spring semester.

Emory also returns all three of their goalkeepers from last year; senior, Andrew Dunn, and the sophomore duo of David Laub and Samuel Adams look forward to working together as the backbone of the Eagles defense.

The coaching staff is also encouraged by the many newcomers to the program including sophomore midfielder, Paul Goleb. Goleb, who competed on Emory's Soccer team last year, left soccer and now is concentrating primarily on lacrosse. Along with a core of many talented freshman, Goleb rounds out an excellent recruiting class for the upcoming season.

With such an impressive resume for 2007, Head Coach Dave Reed hopes to contradict the preseason polls and take his Eagles straight to Dallas to compete in the MCLA Division B National Championships.

To view the 2007 Shamrock Lacrosse MCLA Division B Preseason Poll click here.