Waterville, Maine - The SUNY Poly men's lacrosse team has been voted the #1 team in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) West Division Pre-season Poll. The poll seedings were determined through a nomination and voting process that was completed by the NAC coaches last week. SUNY Poly received the most votes in either division, tallying 15 total points. 

[NAC RELEASE] 

The 2021 NAC men's lacrosse season looks a bit different than originally planned when three new schools (SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Poly, Cazenovia) joined the league last year. What would have been a ten-team, full-conference schedule is now an eight-team, divisional schedule format. The schedule will revert back to the original plan for the 2021-22 season.

Men's lacrosse teams will face only one conference opponent per week throughout the season, and in some cases may play multiple contests against the same opponent during the course of a week. To limit the amount of cross-state travel, all regular season conference contests will remain in-division.

The East Division consists of Husson University, Thomas College, Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA). The West Division consists of SUNY Poly, SUNY Canton, SUNY Delhi, and SUNY Cobleskill. Maine Maritime Academy and Cazenovia College opted out of the men's lacrosse conference season this year.

The NAC postseason will have two rounds. The semifinal round will pit the top-two teams per division against one another on the first weekend in May. The following weekend, May 8, 2021, the East and West champions will compete for the conference title and automatic qualifier bid (AQ) to the NCAA championship tournament. The advancing team from the West Division will host the conference championship game.

Head coaches predict that SUNY Poly will win the West Division and face either Husson or Thomas from the East Division for the conference championship.

SUNY Poly earned 15 points and three first-place votes to top the West Division preseason poll. SUNY Canton was second with 11 points, SUNY Delhi picked up the remaining first-place vote and 10 points for third-place, and SUNY Cobleskill sits in fourth-place with four points.

Husson and Thomas split first-place votes with two each, putting them in a tie at the top of the East Division poll with 13 points apiece. NVU-Lyndon and MCLA are also tied with seven points each.

Head coaches voted in preseason polls for their own division.

All plans remain contingent on federal, state, and local health guidance, as well as state college system and institutional realities. The health, safety, and welfare of student athletes, coaches, and entire college communities remain a priority as the NAC returns to competitive sports.

View the 2021 Men's Lacrosse schedule and results HERE.