File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

RICHMOND, Va. -- Led by pre-season Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year Curtis Dickson (at right), the University of Delaware men’s lacrosse team was picked No. 2 in the CAA Pre-Season Coaches Poll announced Thursday afternoon by the league office.

Defending league champion Hofstra, which posted a record of 10-6 last year and fell to Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, was the pre-season No. 1 pick as the Pride earned five of the seven first place votes and 35 points, edging Delaware. The Blue Hens were No. 2 with two first place votes and 31 points overall followed by Drexel, Towson, Villanova, Sacred Heart, and Robert Morris.

Delaware, looking to post an unprecedented sixth straight winning season this spring, will kickoff the 2009 men’s lacrosse season when the Hens host Saint Joseph’s next Saturday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m. at Rullo Stadium. The Delaware-SJU matchup is historically the nation’s first game of the season. The CAA championships will be held Apr. 29 and May 2 at sites of the higher seeds.

The No. 2 selection was the latest honor for a Blue Hens team that returns 19 letterwinners from last year’s squad that posted a 9-7 record and advanced to the CAA semifinals for the fifth straight season. Earlier this year, Delaware was picked No. 20 in the Inside Lacrosse/Faceoff Yearbook Pre-Season Top 25 poll and No. 23 in the LAXNews.com Pre-Season Top 25.

Dickson, a junior attackman from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia (Riverside High School), highlighted the pre-season all-conference team selected by the league coaches and was joined on the pre-season all-conference team by junior midfielder Martin Cahill (Governor’s Academy/Malden, Mass.) and sophomore defender Pat Dowling (Fairfield Ludlowe/Fairfield, Conn.).

Dickson was the runner-up for CAA Player of the Year honors a year ago and earned a spot on the USILA honorable mention All-American squad and All-CAA first team after leading the team and the CAA in scoring with 62 points on 46 goals and 16 assists.

He scored two or more goals 12 times during the season, including netting a season-high six goals vs. Drexel and five each vs. Stony Brook, UMBC, and Marist. He also earned pre-season All-American honors by Inside Lacrosse earlier this year.

Cahill, a second-year starter, earned first team All-CAA honors as a sophomore in 2007 when he was second on the team in goals scored (29) and fourth on the squad in total points with 38. He scored three goals in a game six times last season and netted the game-winner in the Hens’ thrilling 8-7 triple overtime win over Albany.

Dowling earned a spot on the CAA All-Rookie team a year ago as a redshirt freshmen when he started all 16 games and led the team with 18 caused turnovers while scooping up 35 groundballs. He anchored a Delaware defense that held opponents to only 9.34 goals per game.

AGATE:

2009 Colonial Athletic Association Pre-Season Coaches Poll: 1. Hofstra (5 first place votes), 35 points; 2. Delaware (2), 31; 3. Drexel, 27; 4. Towson, 20; 5. Villanova, 17; 6. Sacred Heart, 9; 7. Robert Morris, 8.

2009 CAA Pre-Season All-Conference Team: Attack - Curtis Dickson (Delaware), Colin Ambler (Drexel), Jay Card (Hofstra); Midfield - Martin Cahill (Delaware), Greg Casey (Drexel), Anthony Muscarella (Hofstra); Longstick Midfield - Steve Prifte (Drexel); Faceoff Specialist - Ryan West (Drexel); Defense - Pat Dowling (Delaware), Matt McCormick (Drexel), Eddie DiDonato (Villanova); Goalkeeper - Danny Orlando (Hofstra).

Player of the Year: Curtis Dickson (Delaware)