SOUTH EASTON, Mass. – The University of New Haven women’s lacrosse team has been picked to finish fifth in the Northeast-10 Conference as voted by the conference’s 13 head coaches. The 2012 preseason poll was released Thursday by the conference office.
The Chargers are coming off a 10-8 season in 2011 when they posted a fifth place finish in the NE-10 with an 8-4 record. In 2011, New Haven made its fourth-straight postseason appearance, but fell to Merrimack College in the opening round of the NE-10 tournament.
This season UNH returns 14 athletes, including their top scorer from last year’s team, Alexis Gabbe (Malverne, N.Y./Malverne). The junior recorded 88 total points (74g, 14a) last season. Also returning in 2011 will be one of the team’s top scorers from 2011, Sarah Magnone (Yardley, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) who scored 52 total points (46g, 6a) last season.
New Haven opens its 2012 campaign on Thursday, March 8 when they travel to Molloy College in a non-conference matchup.
2012 Northeast-10 Conference Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll
t-1. Adelphi (7) – 137
t-1. Le Moyne (5) – 137
3. Stonehill – 119
4. Merrimack – 111
5. New Haven – 95
6. Bentley – 84
7. So. New Hampshire – 78
8. Saint Anselm – 62
9. Assumption – 56
10. Franklin Pierce – 45
11. American Int’l – 39
12. Saint Michael’s – 31
13. So. Connecticut – 20
( ) – Indicates number of first-place votes
