Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Cocoziello Named Preseason Third-Team All-America By Inside Lacrosse
December 27, 2005 | Men's Lacrosse
Dec. 27, 2005
Dan Cocoziello, who finished his freshman year by becoming the first defenseman ever to be named Ivy League men's lacrosse Rookie of the Year, has been named a preseason third-team All-America by Face-Off Yearbook/Inside Lacrosse Magazine.
Cocoziello, who started all 12 games of his freshman year, was the only Princeton player named to the first, second or third teams. Juniors Peter Trombino and Scott Sowanick were honorable mention All-America selections.
Princeton, looking to rebound from a 5-7 season that saw the Tigers miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in 16 years, were ranked 10th in the preseason poll, two spots behind Ivy rival Cornell. Johns Hopkins, the defending NCAA champion, was the preseason No. 1, followed by Duke, Virginia, Maryland and Syracuse.
Trombino and Sowanick tied for the team lead in points last year, and both earned second-team All-Ivy honors. Trombino is the only player in school history with at least 20 goals and at least 10 assists as both a freshman and sophomore, and Sowanick and Trombino are two of the seven players in school history to have double figures in goals and assists as a freshman and sophomore. Trombino has scored at least one point in every game of his career.
Despite the down year in 2005, Princeton has many reasons to be optimistic for the 2006 season. Princeton returns seven starters from a year ago, and the Tigers were extraordinarly young, using four sophomores and as many as five freshmen as starters.
That returning group is joined by an incoming class that was ranked No. 1 by Inside Lacrosse and included the No. 6 incoming player in defenseman Chris Peyser and the No. 7 incoming player in midfielder Josh Lesko. Princeton opens its season Feb. 25 at home against Canisius before traveling to No. 1 Hopkins the following week and then hosting Virginia the week after that.