HAMILTON, N.Y. (2/11/09)—The Colgate University men's lacrosse team kicks off its 2009 season on Friday, Feb. 13 when it hosts Canisius College. The Raiders and Golden Griffins face off on Tyler's Field at 4:00 p.m. 

Fans who would like to follow the action can by tickets online by clicking here or follow through the live statistics provided on the Colgate Athletics Web site.

 

The Raiders and Golden Griffins are facing off for the 13th time in the two teams' histories with Colgate owning a 12-0 advantage. Colgate won an overtime thriller, 12-11, last season at Canisius.

 

The Raiders are coming off a season to remember finishing 11-6 overall, upsetting Navy and beating Bucknell in the Patriot League Championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the programs history. Before heading into the big dance Colgate upset the eventual national champion Syracuse for the second straight season. In the NCAA Tournament the Raiders were edged by Notre Dame in overtime, 8-7. Colgate welcomes back three all-Patriot League selections from a year ago, including first-team honoree senior Brandon Corp (Chittenango, N.Y.), who was named a 2009 first-team preseason all-American.

 

Colgate heads into the season after collecting numerous preseason accolades. The Raiders are ranked 16th in the USILA Preseason Coaches Poll and 17th by Inside Lacrosse. Colgate was picked first in the Patriot League Preseason Poll as Corp was voted by the league's coaches and sports information directors as the Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, for the second straight season.

 

Corp led the Patriot League in scoring last season with 56 points off of 41 goals and 15 assists. His 41 tallies ranks fifth all-time, while his overall 56 points is seventh in Colgate single-season history. He is a three-time all-Patriot League selection, earning first-team recognition each of the past two seasons. Corp has tallied at least one point in 33 consecutive games, dating back to the beginning of the 2007 season. He proved to be instrumental in the Raiders' run to the Patriot League Championship, registering a Patriot League Tournament record eight goals and 11 points in the two games, including five tallies in the semifinal upset of Navy. For his career he has 92 goals and 39 assists for 131 points. He currently ranks sixth all-time in career goals and is 10th career points.

 

Senior Kevin Colleluori (Bethpage, N.Y.) and junior Ian Murphy (Constantia, N.Y.) were both selected to the all-Patriot League second team last season. Colleluori ranked third on the team in points last season with 44 and was second in goals with a career-high 35. A natural leader on the field Collelouri led all attackers with 32 groundballs last season. Murphy was fourth on the team in scoring with 24 goals and four assists for 28 points. Murphy was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week after scoring a career-high four goals against then-No. 9 Bucknell.

 

The Golden Griffins finished 10-6 overall last season winning the MAAC Championship before losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

 

Canisius is led by sophomore midfielder Adam Jones, who was selected as the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. Joining Jones on the All-MAAC Preseason Team is classmate Nick LoCoco.

 

Jones became the first Golden Griffin to earn All-America honors in 2008. He led the team with 47 points and 38 goals to go along with nine assists. One of just three freshmen in the country to earn All-America honors in 2008, Jones led all midfielders nationally with his 38 goals. He finished his rookie season first in the MAAC with 2.38 goals per game and placed second with 2.94 points per game. Jones also earned preseason All-America accolades by Inside Lacrosse.

 

The 2008 MAAC Rookie of the Year, LoCoco posted 46 points on 12 goals and a team-leading 36 assists in 2008. The freshman ranked third nationally and led the MAAC with 2.12 assists per game. He also placed third in the conference with 2.88 points per contest.