Lacrosse Club Team One of Best in Nation

            If you are looking for hard-hitting action this spring by a national ranked team, look no further than Kunz Field.

            The men's club lacrosse team has been ranked 10th in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association's pre-season poll. The ranking is the highest Buffalo has ever been at any point in its club's history.

            Head coach Ryan Crawford says that a major reason for the team's high ranking was its success last year. In the team's first season in the Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League, Buffalo won the conference title and earned a bid to Nationals in Denver. The teams in the Division-1 PCLL are located in New England, but the competition Buffalo sees makes up for the distance it has to travel.

            "It's a more balanced conference competitively," Crawford said. "We just thought it was a better fit for us, where we would be tested more throughout the regular season, and it would prepare us more for the play-off atmosphere."

            The bid to Nationals was the second Buffalo has received in team history, the first being in 2002. The squad lost in the round of 16 by three goals (11-8) to the eventual runner-up Arizona State, who is also ranked second in the nation in this year's pre-season poll.

            Another factor to Buffalo's high pre-season ranking is the core of returning players.

            "We're returning all but three players from that team last year," Crawford said. "And the fact that we are going to be an experienced team plays into that [high ranking]."            Crawford was impressed with the turnout from the freshman class as well as some transfers. He believes that there is enough talent to fill the void of the three players that left. He also expects the experienced players to be it's in full stride for the season. Buffalo practices five days a week for two hours a day as they prepare for their tough schedule.

            Buffalo will start the season in March as it takes a trip south to play a trio of teams. Over the weeklong break, the squad will take on No. 14 Clemson, Georgia Tech and No. 12 Florida State. The team went 1-2 against these teams on the same trip last year. Its home schedule is highlighted by an April Fool's Day Matchup with No. 15 Virginia Tech.

            The Bulls' first home game is scheduled for March 30, a conference game against New Hampshire.

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