PAC Releases 2023 Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll
TRAFFORD, Pa. -The Bethany College men's lacrosse team is picked to finish eighth in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Grove City secured the top spot in the coaches' poll receiving eight first place votes followed by Saint Vincent and Westminster.
Chatham is picked fourth followed by Allegheny, Thiel, and Washington & Jefferson. Franciscan was picked ninth.
Eighth-year head coach Ryan Hilyer and the Bison will return two of their leading point scorers from last year, including senior Clay Yingling (Union Bridge, Md. / Linganore). Yingling finished 2022 with a team-high of 55 points and is the team's leading goal scorer. He netted 39 goals with 16 assists last season, and had at least one goal in all 14 games last season. Yingling tied the single-game points scored record with 13 points, (seven goals and six assists) and set the single-season goals record for the Bison.
Tyler Britton (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) also returns for the Bison as a top scorer after netting 25 goals and assisting 13 last season.
The Green and White will have familiar faces on the backend, with senior goalkeeper Andrew Smith (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and junior Christian Funari (Wheeling, W.Va./ Wheeling Park) returning. Smith started in all 14 games last season for the Bison and played 813:07 minutes in net. Last season, he led all of NCAA Division III in save percentage (0.663) and saves per game (22.79). He finished the season with 319 saves. Smith set the single-game saves record with 35 saves against Westminster. He registered 20+ saves eight times this season. He currently ranks second on Bethany's all-time saves list with 840 career saves.
Funari finished with a record-breaking season last year. He caused a program-high 35 turnovers, and his 71 groundballs were second on the team. He caused at least one turnover in 11 games last season.
Britton, Funari, Smith, and Yingling are named on the PAC Players to Watch list for this upcoming season.
Bethany will open the 2023 season on Saturday, Feb. 18, when it hosts William Peace at 1 p.m.
