Bethany Men's Lacrosse Selected Sixth In ORLC Preseason Coaches' Poll

Feb. 4 – GREENWOOD, Ind. – On the tail of their first season in Ohio River Lacrosse Conference play, the Bison lacrosse team and first-year head coach Ryan Hilyer, have been selected sixth in the 2016 ORLC Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced the ORLC on Thursday.

The Green & White, who captured four wins during the 2015 campaign, return 11 letterwinners and four All-ORLC selections to a program that shattered the Bison record books in their first conference season. This year, the Bison were selected sixth, earning 32 points.

Last season's ORLC champion, Transylvania University, was picked to finish first in the coaches' poll, garnering 77 points and eight first-place votes. Saint Vincent College, last year's runner up, was selected second in the poll with 65 points (one first-place vote).

Following Thiel (61), Washington & Jefferson (56) and Hanover (52), the Bison earned a sixth-place nod. They were then followed by Mount Saint Joseph (31), Defiance (16) and Westminster College (15), who is in their first year of ORLC play.

Along with the preseason poll, a list of players to watch was announced, with junior Jake Holland (Canton, Ohio/Jackson), and sophomores Sean Rhodes (Indiana, Pa./Indiana), Jacob Schiffer (Monkton, Md./Hereford) and Bryan Uth (Hedgesville, W. Va./Hedgesville) all named to the list.

Holland earned Second-Team All-ORLC status following his sophomore season, posting one of the best statistical performances in Bethany history. The then sophomore, cracked four Bison records, including single-game points (13) and assists (9), as well as single-season points (57) and assists (33).

Rhodes joins the Bethany squad after a stint with back-to-back National Junior College Athletic Association Champions, Onondaga Community College. In 2015, the goal keeper posted a .708 save percentage, while making 11 appearances to help lead the Lazers to the National title in 2015.

Uth earned an Honorable Mention All-ORLC selection following a freshman season in which he ranked second in the league in ground balls (97). The face-off specialist won over 50% of his faceoff attempts, helping the Bison to their best faceoff percentage in school history.

Schiffer was also named an honorable mention selection, registering 19 points (10 goals and nine assists) on the year. He ranked second on the Bison in shot-on-goal percentage (.644) while sitting third on the roster in assists.

"I expect all of our returners to continue to make a solid impact heading into the 2016 season," commented Coach Hilyer, "Having some of our top all-conference players back in the fold has really helped in the transition of the team, and I think that we can use our pre-season ranking as a starting off point for the new era of Bethany lacrosse."

The Green & White will open their season on Wednesday, March 2, when they travel to Muskingum University for a 5:00 p.m. start. Bethany will then host their first game of the 2016 campaign on March 21 against Hope College before ushering in a new year of ORLC action at Saint Vincent on March 23.