Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Editor Justin Guerriero at justin.guerriero@colorado.edu and follow him on Twitter @TheHungry_Hippo.
The University of Colorado men’s club lacrosse team sits atop the Under Armour Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association Division I Coaches poll, released last week.
CU, which competes in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference, earned 19 of the 23 total votes.
In taking the top spot, Colorado replaces the defending national champions, Grand Canyon University, due to Utah Valley University’s stunning upset over the Antelopes on Feb. 5, which dropped them to No. 9 in the MCLA.
The Buffaloes and Antelopes are set to play in Phoenix for what is sure to be a heated season opener on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.
Colorado is coming off a 17-5 2015 campaign in which it finished second behind Westminster College in the RMLC standings. The Buffs were national champions in 2014.
This season, the team will be without the services of attacker Jace Gan and midfielder Riley Kulm, both of whom graduated last year. They scored 70 total goals in 2015. Gan led the team with an average of 2.58 goals per game.
Sophomore midfielder Colin MacIlvennie will likely provide the Buffaloes with some offense this year to pick up the slack — last season he scored 41 goals in 22 games. Senior attacker John Clayton, who scored 31 goals and was tied for the team lead in assists with 19, is also likely to be a main cast member again this season.
Colorado was second in the RMLC last season with 276 goals scored, trailing only Brigham Young University’s impressive 322.
The Buffs are slated to play 14 games this season, which runs from late February through mid April. You can find more information on their Facebook page.
