Nate Beresovoy
Cortland
Beresovoy returns for his senior season after scoring at least once in all but one game for the Red Dragons, a performance that earned him All-American honors from both the IMLCA (first-team) and USILA (second-team) a year ago. As a junior, he scored 36 times and assisted another nine, helping bring pressure from the middle of the field to open things up for Cortland’s attack, which returns 90-point producer Devin Phelps for 2018.
Jordan Krug
Cabrini
In just two seasons, the junior from New Jersey has racked up 151 points, leading the Cavaliers with 58 goals and 75 points as a sophomore, including a monster six-point showing in his team’s upset win over then-No. 1 Salisbury in April. His team didn’t fare as well in its NCAA tournament rematch with the eventual NCAA champion Sea Gulls, but he and the rest of a Cabrini team returning much of its firepower from a year ago should once again challenge even the top tier of college lacrosse’s largest division.
Harry Stanton
Wesleyan
The lone returning first-team All-American on offense, Stanton set a school record with 86 goals as a junior, adding 29 assists to finish with 115 points for the NCAA semifinalists. A known quantity now on a team with a target on its back – both in the NESCAC and the DIII world at large – Stanton will have to come up big once more if he and the rest of coach John Raba’s team look to fulfill expectations in 2018.
Kyle Tucker
Salisbury
With the Sea Gull offense dotted with question marks, Tucker and the rest of the stout Salisbury defense will have to loom large – at least in the early season as those questions get answered. There’s little doubt that the back line is coach Jim Berkman’s ace in the hole going into the season, anchored by Tucker, who captured the USILA’s William C. Styles honor a year ago after leading a defensive unit that allowed fewer than seven goals per game. Stats wise, Tucker finished with 30 caused turnovers and 67 groundballs for the NCAA champions.