CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Loyola University Maryland's Kevin Lindley and Ryan McNulty were named the Patriot League Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, while the Greyhounds were picked as the No. 1 team in the conference by a poll of head coaches and school officials.
 
Lindley and McNulty were named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team where they were joined by Cam Wyers, as well.
 
Last season, the trio led Loyola to its second-straight appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinal round as the Greyhounds finished the season with a 12-5 record. Lindley and McNulty each earned United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-America recognition last year and were named to the All-Patriot League First Team, while Wyers was one of the top freshmen defenders nationwide and was on the All-Patriot League Second Team.
 
Lindley capped his sophomore campaign with a school record 60 goals becoming the first player in Loyola history to reach that mark. He broke the previous best of 54 goals set by Eric Lusby in Loyola's 2012 NCAA Championship season in one fewer game that Lusby's 18.
 
The native of Darien, Connecticut, finished the year third in NCAA Division I in both goals and goals per game (3.53), and he topped the Patriot League in shooting percentage (.444). In just 34 career games over two seasons, Lindley has scored 97 goals and has shot .471 for the Greyhounds. He also has seven career extra-man goals, five coming a year ago.
 
He opened last season with a show of why he is one of the best finishers in college lacrosse, averaging 5.0 goals over the Greyhounds' first five contests against Virginia, Johns Hopkins, Rutgers, Towson and Holy Cross. Later in the year, he posted a 10-point game with eight goals and a pair of assists. His eight goals tied his career-high and the second-best single-game performance at Loyola.
 
McNulty, a Philadelphia-area product, continued to establish himself as one of the top long-stick midfielders in the nation as he led Loyola's non-faceoff specialists with 65 ground balls. He also topped the Greyhounds with 25 caused turnovers during his second full season on the field. McNulty will play this season as a senior academically, and he will return next year to compete for his fourth year athletically after missing all but two games his freshman season with an injury.
 
Like Lindley's start to 2019, McNulty had an equally solid one. He totaled three ground balls and three caused turnovers in the opening win over Virginia, and he then led the Greyhounds' defense to another victory at Johns Hopkins with six groundballs and three takeaways. McNulty then earned a Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week nod after posting six ground balls and a caused turnover in a win at Rutgers.
 
Wyers came to campus and by the start of the season had earned the role of defending the other team's No. 1 matchup. He rose to a high level of play right away, defending the likes of Virginia's Michael Krauss, Johns Hopkins' Joey Epstein and Rutgers' Adam Charlambides out of the gate in the first three games.
 
The Canadian product finished the year by leading Loyola's close defense in both ground balls (34) and caused turnovers (17).
 
Loyola will open the season on the road at Virginia on Saturday, February 8, followed by three-straight home games against ranked opponents: Johns Hopkins (Saturday, February 15), Rutgers (Saturday, February 22) and Towson (Wednesday, February 26). The contest against Johns Hopkins is a doubleheader with the Greyhounds and Blue Jays women's teams playing prior to the men's contest.
 
Tickets for all Loyola games can be purchased online at LoyolaGreyhounds.com/tickets.