SPARTANBURG, S.C. – For the third straight season, Richmond is the Southern Conference men’s lacrosse coaches’ pick to win the league. The seven head coaches also picked a 13-member preseason All-Southern Conference team, with the Spiders leading the way with five selections.
 
Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams or student-athletes. Five of the seven league teams were represented on the preseason All-SoCon team.
 
Richmond earned all six possible first-place votes and 36 points in the preseason SoCon poll. High Point earned 28 points and the remaining first-place vote to edge Air Force, which collected 26 points, and Jacksonville had 24 as the 2-4 spots were separated by just four points. Mercer finished fifth (14 points), Bellarmine sixth (13) and VMI seventh (6).
 
Richmond, ranked No. 17 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Magazine preseason poll, went 4-3 (1-0 SoCon) in the abbreviated 2020 season, which was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. All three of those losses came against top-15 competition, including overtime losses to No. 4 Maryland and No. 13 Duke. The Spiders went 10-7 overall and tied for third at 5-2 in SoCon play in 2019, winning their second straight SoCon tournament title.
 
Senior Ryan Lanchbury earned a preseason all-conference nod at attack, while classmates Mitch Savoca and Jason Reynolds earned spots in the midfield and defense, respectively. Graduate student Jack Rusbuldt was the preseason All-SoCon pick at goalkeeper and graduate student Sean Menges was selected at long stick midfielder. Lanchbury enters his senior season third in SoCon history in scoring with 145 points and was third in the league in points per game last season (4.29), while Savoca was seventh in goals per game (1.86). Rusbuldt paced the league last season with a .556 save percentage. His career goals-against average of 9.85 would rank fourth in league history, but he needs 20 more minutes played to reach the minimum for inclusion. Menges had 26 ground balls and nine caused turnovers last year, while Reynolds had six ground balls and four caused turnovers, helping the Spiders post a 10.40 GAA and cause 9.29 turnovers per game, both of which ranked second in the league.
 
High Point, which went 2-6 last season against a schedule that included four top-12 foes, put two-time SoCon Offensive Player of the Year Asher Nolting and Colin Clothier on the preseason squad at attack and short stick midfielder, respectively. Nolting, the SoCon’s career leader in points per game (5.03), assists (106) and assists per game (2.79), paced the league with 2.75 assists per game last year and was third in scoring at 4.12 points per game. He enters his senior campaign just 35 points shy of the SoCon record of 226. Clothier scored three goals and registered seven ground balls and two caused turnovers last season.
 
The Panthers shared the 2019 SoCon regular-season title with Air Force before falling in the SoCon tournament title game to Richmond.
 
Air Force was represented on the preseason All-SoCon team by defenseman Quentin Carlile, a second-team All-SoCon pick as a freshman in 2019 who helped the Falcons post the third-best goals-against average in the league (10.99) last season.
 
Jacksonville claimed three preseason All-SoCon spots, including two in the midfield in Jack Dolan and Evan Tyler. Tyler ranked second in the SoCon in points per game (4.33) last season and third in goals per game (2.67), while Dolan was eighth in points per game (3.33) and fourth in assists per game (2.17). He shared the league lead with two game-winning goals. Joining Dolan and Tyler on the preseason squad was defenseman Dixon Smith, who led the Dolphins with 10 caused turnovers last season, good for fourth in the league.
 
Mercer had a pair of preseason all-conference picks in attackman Sean Goldsmith and faceoff specialist Ashton Wood. Goldsmith, who led NCAA Division I with 4.86 goals per game last season and tied for fourth nationally in points per game with 6.00, matched the SoCon record for single-game goals with seven twice last season. Wood ranked third nationally with a .695 faceoff winning percentage last season and ranked fifth with 10.43 ground balls per game. He enters his junior campaign as the SoCon’s career leader in both categories, with marks of .665 and 8.65, respectively.
 
All three forwards on the preseason All-SoCon team – High Point’s Nolting, Mercer’s Goldsmith and Richmond’s Lanchbury – were on the final 2020 watch list for the Tewaaraton Award, while Goldsmith and Richmond’s Menges and Reynolds earned Maverik Men's DI Media All-America honorable mention last season.
 
Ten of the 13 members of this year’s preseason all-conference team were preseason picks last season, as only Jacksonville’s Smith, Richmond’s Rusbuldt and High Point’s Clothier are new to the squad this year.
 
The 2021 Southern Conference men’s lacrosse season gets under way Saturday, Jan. 30. This season’s SoCon Championship returns to Richmond’s Robins Stadium on May 6 and 8.
 
2021 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes)   Total
1. Richmond (6)               36
2. High Point (1)               28
3. Air Force                      26
4. Jacksonville                 24
5. Mercer                         14
6. Bellarmine                   13
7. VMI                             6
 
2021 Preseason All-Southern Conference team
A             Asher Nolting, Sr., High Point
A             Sean Goldsmith, Jr., Mercer
A             Ryan Lanchbury, Sr., Richmond
M            Jack Dolan, R-Jr., Jacksonville
M            Evan Tyler, R-Sr., Jacksonville
M            Mitch Savoca, Sr., Richmond
D             Quentin Carlile, Jr., Air Force
D             Dixon Smith, R-Jr., Jacksonville
D             Jason Reynolds, Sr., Richmond
GK          Jack Rusbuldt, Gr., Richmond
FO          Ashton Wood, Jr., Mercer
SSM        Colin Clothier, Sr., High Point
LSM        Sean Menges, Gr., Richmond