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LANCASTER, PA - Franklin & Marshall College is ranked 22nd in the 2005 LaxPower.com Division III men's lacrosse preseason poll. Ranked 23rd in the Inside Lacrosse poll, the Diplomats will face a tough schedule this year as five of their opponents are ranked in the Top 30: #5 Washington, #7 Gettysburg, #9 Washington & Lee, #25 Dickinson and #29 McDaniel. Leading the charge in 2005 for Franklin & Marshall will be face-off specialist Matt Capone (Sr., Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale), attackman Steve Welsh (Sr., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) and midfielder Colin Hanley (Sr., Davidsonville, MD/DeMatha) who were named to the 2005 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Division III Preseason All-America Team. A 2004 and 2005 third team preseason All-America selection, Capone led the Centennial Conference and NCAA Division III for the second straight season in face-off winning percentage last year by taking of 211-of-275 face-offs for a 76.72 percentage. A 2003 and 2004 All-Centennial Conference first team selection, he established the NCAA all divisions record for face-off winning percentage by winning 288-of-357 face-offs during the 2003 season to lead Franklin & Marshall to the NCAA “Elite Eight”, a 12-4 record and a #9 national ranking. A 2004 and 2005 Inside Lacrosse preseason honorable mention selection, Welsh earned All-Centennial Conference and All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) first team honors last year as he led the team in scoring registering 20 goals and a season high 32 assists for 52 points to rank third in points (3.71 per game) and second in assists (2.21 per game) as he finished the year ranked 12th in the NCAA in assists. Statistically, Welsh was the team's go-to scorer in 2004 as he scored once and handed out two assists in a 5-3 victory over Washington & Lee at home in Lancaster. Versus Denison at Loyola University in Baltimore, Welsh scored four goals and handed out four assists for a season high eight points in a 12-10 win over the Big Red on March 20, before tallying a goal and four assists in a 10-3 win over Ursinus in the Centennial Conference season opener in Lancaster. For his career, he now has 64 goals and 67 assists for 131 points to rank 11th in assists and 10th in points in Franklin & Marshall history. Hanley was also selected to the preseason honorable mention team as he registered 16 goals and two assists for 18 points last season to improve his career totals to 64 goals and 23 assists for 87 points. The selection marks the second straight year Hanley was recognized as he earned preseason All-America honorable mention honors prior to last season for tallying 29-13-42 in 2003. Historically, the Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse program is one of the strongest in NCAA Division III as F&M has registered nine conference championships in the last 31 years with a 48-year record of 323-306. Franklin & Marshall will open the 2005 season on February 26 at Elizabethtown College in the first-ever meeting between the only two Lancaster County colleges that sponsor NCAA men’s lacrosse. 2005 LaxPower.com Division III Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll (Points)
1. Salisbury (400)
2. Nazareth (371)
3. Middlebury (348)
4. Cortland (342)
5. Washington (319)
6. Ithaca (280)
7. Gettysburg (276)
8. Tufts (242)
9. Washington & Lee (215)
10. Hampden-Sydney (169)
11. Springfield (163)
12. Roanoke (155)
13. Amherst (148)
14. RIT (140)
15. Wesleyan (133)
16. St. Lawrence (93)
17. Whittier (74)
18. Lynchburg (66)
19. Stevens Tech (65)
20. Geneseo (50)
21. Rensselaer (36)
22. Franklin & Marshall (21)
23. Bowdoin (18)
24. Messiah (16)
25. Dickinson (14)
26. Cabrini (11)
27. Hartwick (9)
28. Mary Washington (8)
29. McDaniel (6)
30. Colorado (4)
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