Ravens Picked Fourth in Men's HCLC Poll

The Anderson University Ravens Men's Lacrosse team was picked fourth in the preseason HCLC poll. This is Anderson's inaugural season and is led by Head Coach Jacob Ashton.

The Transylvania University men's lacrosse team has been selected as the favorite to win the 2019 Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference title in a vote of the five league coaches. The Pioneers claimed 50 total points and all five first-place votes in the coaches preseason poll.  Hanover College placed second in the poll with 45 total points and Mount St. Joseph University finished third in the poll with 38 total points. Anderson University (35) and Earlham College (32) rounded out the poll.

The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference adopted in the Summer 2018 the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference. The sport of lacrosse has been a part of the HCAC since the 2014-15 academic season when it partnered with the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) to create the Ohio River Lacrosse Conference (ORLC).
After the 2017-18 season, with the approval from the NCAA the Heartland was able to rename the ORLC to the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference while still maintaining the NCAA Division III Automatic Qualifier for the men's and women's lacrosse championships.

Transylvania will be looking to claim the school's fourth conference title this spring. The Pioneers went 12-7 overall and 9-1 in conference play last season. Transylvania ended its season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Washington and Lee. 

The Pioneers return three all-conference selections from the 2018 season. Last year's Defensive Player of the Year, T. J. Toivonen, led the Pios defense with 100 ground balls and 59 caused turnovers. Senior Webb VanMeter anchored a Transy defense with Toivonen that tallied 174 caused turnovers, a 7.96 goals-against average and limited conference opponents to 44 goals last season. Junior attack Trenton Sneed added 26 goals, 44 assists and 42 ground balls to the Pioneers offense during the 2018 campaign.

Hanover College finished fourth in the league standings last season with a 7-3 record. The Panthers were 7-10 overall and ended their season with a loss to Transylvania in the conference tournament semifinals. Hanover returns one first-team all-conference member to the roster this spring. Junior goalkeeper Noah Dubrava started all 17 games for Hanover last season and recorded a 8.75 goals-against average while achieving a 58.9 save percentage. Dubrava also added 55 ground balls along with 205 saves.

The 2019 men's lacrosse season opened on February 16 with the HCLC portion of the schedule reflecting a double round robin format.

The 2019 HCLC Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament will feature a four-team field, with the high seed hosting each tournament match. On Wednesday, May 1 the two conference semifinals will take place on the campus of the high seed. The tournament's title match will be contested on Saturday, May 4.

For the third year in a row, the winner of the men's championship tournament will receive one of just 26 automatic qualifying bids to this year's NCAA Division III Lacrosse Championship. The men's lacrosse NCAA championship bracket is scheduled to be announced on Sunday, May 5.