Post ranked No. 1 in preseason, but NYIT, Dowling close behind

The best Division II lacrosse team is . . . not as clear-cut as a year ago, when C.W. Post (15-1) had a dream season capped by an 8-7 win over Le Moyne in the national championship game.

Parity abounds in 2010, with NYIT and Dowling solid contenders.

"We graduated a lot of scoring, so it's going to be really difficult to duplicate [last season]," Post coach John Jez said. "Our defense is really strong, our faceoff unit is strong. We're just a little young and inexperienced on offense."

Still, the pollsters selected the Pioneers as the No. 1 team in the country in the USILA preseason poll. Enough talent returns - Nick Couric (24 goals), Joe Meo (19 goals) and Eddie Plompen (16 goals) - to keep Post in the hunt for another title.

Sophomore Keith Rodriguez already has contributed four goals to Post's 2-0 start. Mike Messina and James Johnston are solid midfielders. Two junior college transfers, Doug Hoch from Herkimer and Nassau CC's Kyle Riegel, could see significant playing time.

Jez predicts a four-team race for the East Coast Athletic Conference title. "I think Dowling is probably the most underrated one in the group," he said. "NYIT's going to be good as always; then there is Mercyhurst."

NYIT (10-2), third in the preseason poll, is coached by Bill Dunn, who took over for the retired Jack Kaley. NYIT returns preseason All-American Matt Sullivan (16 goals, 36 assists) and Austin Carino (36 goals). Kevin Hennessy, a former player of the year, returns after missing all of 2009 with an injury.

Dowling (7-6), seventh in the national poll, has 24 returning players, led by John McClure, the leading goal-scorer in the nation with 54. Kyle O'Brien (20 goals, 31 assists) also is part of a talented attack. The defense is led by Kyle Rubish, who led the team with 48 ground balls and caused 23 turnovers.

The new coach at Molloy (10-3) is Eric Petrullo, who replaces Joe Catalanotti. Senior Matt Dolan (34 goals, eight assists) is joined by Albert Maione (25 goals, 11 assists) and 2009 conference rookie of the year Ryan Kudlek (25 goals, seven assists).

Adelphi (3-8) will play in the Northeast-10 and face an immediate test in its first conference game when it plays at second-ranked Le Moyne. Joe Vitale (17 goals, 13 assists), Kevin Kemp (17 goals) and Danny Blau (12 goals, eight assists) are experienced returnees on offense.

Division III

USMMA (11-6) won the Landmark Conference title last season and made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Senior attack Brian Flannery (39 goals, 11 assists) and Zach Gray (12 goals, 14 assists) are back this season.

Farmingdale (6-10) hopes to improve in the Skyline Conference as Erick Thomson (31 goals, 32 assists) returns with Sean Maxwell (27 goals, 16 assists). Big additions are Nassau CC transfers Wes Hubschmitt and Joe Loria.

Junior college ranks

Nassau CC (14-5) will shoot for its 22nd NJCAA title. Rich Speckmann, in his 40th year as coach, has won 20 titles and has a career record of 463-155-1. He has 15 players back from last season's national runner-up to Onondaga.

Owen Campbell (25 goals, 33 assists) and Ryan Oswald (13 goals, five assists) lead on attack. Speckmann believes he has the strongest midfield in the nation with Joe Herman (37 goals, 10 assists), James Kiernan (32 goals, 20 assists) and Jason Cranmer (11 goals, eight assists). Goalie Andrew Zoli also returns.

Suffolk CC-Brentwood (11-4) has made great strides under coach Brendan Chamberlain, whose Longhorns beat Nassau CC last year. Midfielders Doug Quednau (26 goals, 10 assists) and Brendan Hayes (11 goals, 25 assists) return. On attack, Aaron Pinto had nine goals and 10 assists in only seven games. Paul Merlino won 65 percent of his faceoffs and goalie Dylan Milano allowed only 3.5 goals per game. Transfers Jason Smith (Ursinus), Greg Fiorvanti (Marist), Mike Theiss (Delhi) and Ralph Pepe (C.W. Post) could make Suffolk CC a formidable threat.

In Queens . . .

St. John's (5-9) is playing in the newly formed Big East, with two-time defending national champion Syracuse. Sophomore Harry Kutner (13 goals, 11 assists) will be called upon to score a lot. The team also is bolstered by the return of fifth-year senior Tom Manes, who was limited to three games last season with a foot injury.

Pioneer

Briarcliffe (6-5) is a member of the Pioneer League, where it has been selected as the preseason favorite. The team is not affiliated with the NCAA and plays a Division III-like schedule against schools such as Farmingdale State. Rookie of the year midfielder Jeff Orban returns, as does Kevin Collica, who was named goalie of the year. John Manzella is a first-team all-league on attack.