Springfield, Mass. - January 7, 2009 - In it's recent preseason national rankings Lacrosse Magazine ranked the Springfield College men's lacrosse team 16th in the country.Last season, the Pride advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament before falling to eventual national-runner up, Cortland State, 12-9. Springfield earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament after winning the Pilgrim Lacrosse League for the seventh time in program history. Springfield then went on to defeat Kean University, 17-2, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 2009 Pride returns 10 seniors as well as 78% of its scoring output from last season. Leading the charge on attack will be Jake Beebe, who tallied a team-best 65 points in '08. Along with Beebe, the Pride will be paced by the play of First-Team All-Pilgrim Lacrosse League selections Jason Farrell and Sam Burrell, as well second-team selections Mike Smith, and Tom Albano.
Beebe and Burrell were also chosen as Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Magazine preseason honorable mention All-Americans.
Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Top 20 NCAA Division III Poll
1. Salisbury
2. Gettysburg
3. Cabrini
4. Middlebury
5. Cortland
6. Lynchburg
7. Ithaca
8. Washington College
9. Stevenson
10. Haverford
11. Endicott
12. St. Lawrence
13. Williams
14. Geneseo
15. Denison
16. Springfield
17. Bowdoin
18. Clarkson
19. Roanoke
20. Tufts
Keith Bugbee enters his 30th season as head men's lacrosse coach at Springfield College in 2013. Under his direction, the Pride is one of the top programs in the country. Bugbee's coaching record stands at an impressive 317-149 (.680 winning percentage). Read more.