BALTIMORE – Inside Lacrosse released its annual preseason Top-25 as part of its Face-Off Yearbook on Wednesday, and the publication had the Loyola University Maryland men's lacrosse team was slotted at No. 4 in the rankings.
 
The Greyhounds, led by Head Coach Charley Toomey who is in his 14^th year at the helm of the program, finished the 2018 season with a 13-4 record. Loyola won its third-straight Patriot League Championship – its fourth in five years in the conference – won an NCAA First Round game against the University of Virginia and wrapped up the season in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
 
Loyola was picked fourth in the preseason poll, behind Yale University, Duke University and the University of Maryland; the complete Top-25 is available at InsideLacrosse.com.
 
The Greyhounds return seven of 10 starters this season, including the 2018 Patriot League Offensive Player (Pat Spencer) and Goalkeeper (Jacob Stover) of the Year.
 
Spencer, who was named one of four team captains this season, set the Loyola and Patriot League record for career assists (166) last season as he earned USILA All-America honors for the third time and first-team recognition for the second-straight year. He also became the conference's all-time leader in points (266), a statistical table on which he sits second at Loyola.
 
Stover led the Patriot League with a 7.79 goals-against average in conference games, and he played to an overage GAA of 8.54 during the season. He finished the season by making a career-high 19 saves in the NCAA Quarterfinal against Yale.
 
Loyola will announce its 2019 schedule later on Wednesday, a slate that includes six teams ranked in Face-Off Yearbook's Top-25.