ANNVILLE, PA – The Susquehanna University men’s lacrosse team has been picked to finish ninth in the annual Middle Atlantic Conference coaches’ poll, as selected by the league’s 10 head coaches.

Widener, which had a streak of five consecutive MAC titles snapped last season, earned nine of 10 first-place votes to easily outdistance defending champion Messiah and Lycoming in the poll.

The Crusaders, under second-year head coach Ron Miller, are led by sophomore attack Hale Abramson, who has scored six goals in the team’s first two games, and junior midfielder Andy Nadler, the team’s career scoring leader with 40 goals and 26 assists for 66 points.

Susquehanna (1-1) opens its MAC schedule on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game against Scranton at the Admissions Field. The Royals are tapped for sixth in the MAC poll, behind FDU-Madison and Drew and ahead of DeSales, first-year program Elizabethtown, Susquehanna and King’s.