The Muhlenberg men's lacrosse team was picked third in the Centennial Conference preseason poll.
The preseason ranking ties the highest ever for the Mules, who were also third in the 2022 poll. Muhlenberg matched its preseason ranking last spring, finishing in a three-way tie for third place to earn its first CC playoff berth since 2008.
The complete CC preseason poll is as follows:
The Mules return four All-CC players, including two All-Americans, from last year's team, which ended with a 9-6 record and received votes in the Division III poll the entire season. In addition to leading the CC in fewest goals allowed, Muhlenberg averaged 12.27 goals per game, a school record for a season with at least 10 games.
Four players - graduate student
Ethan Grossman and seniors
Max May,
Liam Amoruso and
Connor Riebling - were selected as captains of the 2023 Mules.
Grossman is in his sixth season with the program and his third as a team captain. A four-time All-CC honoree, he received honorable mention on the Inside Lacrosse preseason All-America team. Grossman is the Mules' all-time leader with 250 points (20th among active Division III players at the end of the 2022 season), 138 goals and 112 assists. He enters the 2023 season in the top 10 on the CC all-time list in both points (seventh) and assists (fifth).
Max, who also earned preseason All-America honorable mention, is a two-time All-CC goalie. He ranked second in the CC in both save percentage (.574) and goals-against average (8.95) in 2022, and his .597 save percentage in league games was tops in the CC. May's season total of 163 saves was the ninth-best in program history. At the end of the 2022 season, he ranked in the top 30 among active Division III goalies in career goals-against average.
Amoruso has started every game on defense for the past two years. Last season, he ranked second on the Mules with 15 caused turnovers. In 28 career games, including 24 starts, Amoruso has career totals of 29 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers.
Riebling has been one of Muhlenberg's top defensive midfielders for the past two seasons. He played in all 15 games as a junior, ranking fifth on the team (first among defensive middies) with 10 caused turnovers and adding 14 ground balls. He also scored his first career goal against nationally ranked Dickinson. Riebling enters his senior season with career totals of 18 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers.
The Mules are scheduled to begin their 2023 season on Saturday, February 18, with a home game against two-time defending national champion RIT.
