If anything, the rivalry between the Siena and Marist men's lacrosse programs only added more allure and intrigue after the teams met in last season's MAAC Championship Game in Riverdale.
While the Red Foxes claimed the 2023 crown, it meant that the programs are now evenly split at winning 21 games apiece in the all-time series.
ESPN recognized that when the it was announced that ESPNU would air the regular season match up between Siena and Marist on April 10 at 8 p.m. at Tenney Stadium's Leonidoff Field in Poughkeepsie.
Last season's matchup between the teams was also aired on ESPNU, however the game took place on Hickey Field at Siena.
For the third consecutive season, a pair of MAAC contests will be flexed to ESPNU with a regular season matchup in April and the 2024 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championship title match in May both being elevated to the national network.
It is one of 23 regular season matchups that ESPNU and the ACCN will air with nearly 260 additional games available on the ESPN+, ESPN3, and ACCNX platforms via the ESPN App.
The 2024 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championship final will take place on Saturday, May 4 at the home site of the top overall seed in the field.
The championship title game will start at 11 a.m. with the match airing live on ESPNU for the third consecutive season. 2024 will mark the sixth time over the past seven seasons dating back to 2017 in which the MAAC Championship finale will be played on the national stage.
On the heels of a MAAC Championship Game appearance last season, Siena Men's Lacrosse was chosen as the MAAC Preseason Poll favorites voted on by the league's coaches on Jan. 24.
Siena received 92 votes including five first-place votes while Marist, the defending MAAC Champions, were directly behind in the poll with 91 votes and four first-place votes.
The Saints had three players chosen to the MAAC Preseason Team including short stick midfielder
Jack Erb and
Brian Mack and
Trevor Marsala at defense.
Overall, Siena welcomes back 33 returners.
Marist did not have a player named to the MAAC Preseason Team, but should be aided by the return of sophomore Jake Deacy (31 goals, three assists in 2023), junior defense Aiden McCaffrey (30 caused turnovers, 38 ground balls) and sophomore goalkeeper Noble Smith (12.32 GAA, 107 saves).
The Saints are coming off a season in which it went 9-7 and reached the MAAC Championship Game. Siena's postseason run included a 13-11 victory against #5 Sacred Heart and an 11-8 triumph over #1 Manhattan in the MAAC Semifinals in Riverdale, NY.
The Red Foxes also went 9-7 overall and 6-3 in the MAAC, earning the No. 3 seed. Marist beat No. 6 Quinnipiac 29-19, No. 2 Mount St. Mary's 19-7 and No. 4 Siena 12-7 to clinch the crown.
