Gophers Debut in USILA Div. III Rankings at No. 19

Goucher Enters Coaches Poll One Spot Ahead of Gettysburg

PERRY, N.Y. — Goucher made its debut in the Top 20 of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's Division III Coaches Poll today — not just for this season, but for all 21 years that the institution has fielded a men's lacrosse team.

The Gophers, who improved to 9-1 with Saturday's convincing 18-8 triumph over Drew, sit at No. 19 in the USILA rankings for week 5 that were released this morning. They are one spot ahead of Gettysburg, which is the only team head coach Kyle Hannan's squad has lost to so far in 2012.

The 17 coaches who turned in ballots for the latest poll all had Salisbury at No. 1. With 340 points, the Sea Gulls have a 20-point advantage over No. 2 Cortland (320 points). Sitting at No. 3 in the poll is Amherst (288), followed by Rochester Institute of Technology at No. 4 (272) and Lynchburg at No. 5 (267).

The Gophers picked up 36 points in this week's poll, which leaves them 26 points in back of No. 18 Springfield (62). Gettysburg has 23 points.

"Because Goucher's never been ranked since I've been the head coach or even before I came here, I guess that makes this a special day in the history of the program," commented Kyle Hannan, who is in his 12th season as the head coach at Goucher. "The current players should be very proud of this accomplishment, but I hope everybody who has ever played lacrosse at Goucher feels the same sense of pride because this just didn't happen overnight."

The Gophers will play their first game as a Top 20 team when they take on Susquehanna this Saturday in a Landmark Conference contest in Selinsgrove, Pa.