File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

BALTIMORE -- The University of Delaware men’s lacrosse team, which opened its 2009 season with a convincing 13-2 victory over Saint Joseph’s Saturday, has received votes in the weekly United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) and Nike/Inside Lacrosse Top 20 polls announced earlier this week.

The Blue Hens (1-0), who will continue action this Saturday at 1 p.m. at home vs. UMBC, was the top team also receiving votes in the first USILA coaches poll and received six votes in second weekly Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll.

UMBC, a 2008 NCAA Tournament participant that will be making its 2009 debut Saturday, is ranked No. 11 in the USILA poll and tied for No. 10 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse poll. The Retrievers posted a record of 12-4 a year ago when they captured the America East title and return nine of 10 starters from that team.

Rullo Stadium gates will open at 12 noon on Saturday. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for youth ages 17 and under. Admission is free for UD students with valid identification.

The Hens have defeated UMBC each of the last two seasons, posting a 10-6 win in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in 2007 and 15-7 last season in a game played at Neptune Beach, Fla. as part of the Wounded Warrior Classic.

Defending national champion Syracuse took the top spot in the USILA poll witih eight first place votes and 198 points and was followed by Virginia (192, two first place votes), Maryland (169), Cornell (162), Johns Hopkins (155), Duke (137), Georgetown (133), North Carolina (131), Notre Dame (97), and Princeton (97) in the top 10. UMBC was at No. 11 (91) followed by Navy (83), Hofstra (77), Brown (65), Denver (50), Colgate (48), Loyola (45), Albany (42), Ohio State (30), and Bucknell (29). Among teams receiving votes were Delaware, Army, Drexel, Massachusetts, Penn State, Harvard, Dartmouth, Towson, Penn, and Stony Brook.

In the Nike poll, Virginia was at No. 1 with 333 votes and 11 first place votes while Syracuse gained the other six first place votes and 323 overall points at No. 2. Maryland was at No. 3 (300) followed by Johns Hopkins (284), North Carolina (255), Cornell (253), Duke (228), Georgetown (200), Navy (190), Notre Dame (147), and UMBC (147) in the top 10. Princeton was at No. 12 (137) followed by Albany (125), Denver (104), Hofstra (104), Brown (97), Loyola (90), Colgate (83), Ohio State (54), and Bucknell (44). Army (24), Drexel (11), Harvard (10), Penn State (9), Rutgers (6), Delaware (6), Stony Brook (3), and Towson (2) also received votes.

Delaware will play four teams currently in the USILA Top 20 this year, including No. 7 Georgetown, No. 11 UMBC, No. 13 Hofstra, and No. 14 Brown.

The Blue Hens picked up their sixth straight season-opening win with the victory over Saint Joseph’s Saturday as All-American Curtis Dickson netted four goals and Martin Cahill (at right) tallied twice.

Delaware will be looking to start the season 2-0 for the sixth straight year.