Men's Lacrosse Ranked 13th In Preseason, Three Named All-Americans
BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland men's lacrosse was picked 13
th in the preseason NCAA Division I poll by
Inside Lacrosse this week, while three members of the team were selected as Preseason All-Americans by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA).
Ryan McNulty was slotted as a third-team long-stick midfielder, while faceoff specialist
Bailey Savio and defender
Cam Wyers were named to the preseason honorable mention.
Last year, McNulty continued his play as one of the top poles in the nation in all three phases of the game. He led Loyola with 11 caused turnovers, and he was second to Savio with 23 ground balls. He was a key player on the defensive end where Loyola finished the year seventh in scoring defense (8.67 goals allowed per game) and third in man-down defense (.889 kill percentage).
Between the lines, the two-time team captain helped Loyola rank sixth nationally in clearing percentage (.903), and he was a weapon on the offensive end of the field, scoring four points with two goals and two assists in only six games.
He is eighth all-time at Loyola in caused turnovers (51), and he sits just outside the top-15 at the school with 145 ground balls. He also has eight goals on just 21 shots and six assists for 14 career points.
Savio was excellent at the faceoff 'X' for the Greyhounds in 2020, turn in dominant performances one after another. His work at the dot helped Loyola rank third nationally in face-off winning percentage, while he was fifth nationally and tops in the Patriot League.
The junior won 90 of 131 faceoff attempts, a 68.7 percent success rate, and he had 62 ground balls in only six games. Savio won at least 58 percent of his faceoffs in all six games this season. After combining to go 26 of 44 (.591) in the first two games against Virginia and Johns Hopkins, Savio put together a game in which he went 23 of 24 versus Rutgers, picking up a school and Patriot League 18 ground balls in the process.
His 68.7 faceoff winning percentage is a Loyola record for a player who attempted more than 100 draws in a season, bettering the mark of 67.1 percent set in 2003 by Ryan Radonis. During the season, he moved into fourth place in career ground balls with 247. He will enter 2021 chasing the school record of 340 set from 2014-2017 by his older brother, Graham.
In just over one full season with the Greyhounds, Wyers has become known as one of the top close defenders in the nation. Last year, he was a member of the Preseason All-Patriot League Team and finished his five games played with five caused turnovers, five ground balls and an assist.
He posted the assist on a game-winning goal by
Joey Kamish against Rutgers, picking up a key ground ball at midfield for the Greyhounds. He also was key in holding Towson's leading scorer, Jon Mazza, scoreless with only one shot attempt.
Wyers has played in 22 game, starting all of those contests, for Loyola, and he has 39 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers.
As a team, the Greyhounds will start the season in mid-February with a schedule that will be released in coming days.
