CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Preseason America East favorite Stony Brook has been tabbed
18th in the IWLCA Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the organization
announced Tuesday.
Albany and Boston U., who were tied for second in the
America East preseason poll, also were receiving votes. Reigning national
champion Northwestern tops the poll.
Stony Brook (14-5, 5-1 AE) returns 20 letterwinners, all
12 starters, and 96-percent of its goal scoring from a year ago (252 of 263
total goals). The Seawolves finished second in the 2012 regular season before
falling to Albany, 9-7, in the America East Championship title game. Under head
coach Joe Spallina, who is entering his second season at the helm, the
Seawolves had the best turnaround in the nation, winning a program-record 14
games last year after the team had only four victories in 2011. Stony Brook’s
trip to the America East title game was the first in program history, while the
team also notched its first-ever win over a nationally-ranked opponent, a 15-14
victory over Johns Hopkins. The Seawolves return America East Player of the
Year, third-team IWLCA All-American and an Inside Lacrosse Preseason
All-American Claire Petersen, who finished sixth in the conference in goals
(42), first in assists (59) and first in points (101). Most of those assists
went to Demmianne Cook, who returns to the Seawolves after leading the
conference in goals with 68 in 2012. The team also welcomes back midfielder
Michelle Rubino, who led the conference in draw controls (94), and goalkeepers
Frankie Caridi and Hannah Perruccio, who anchored a defense that led the league
in goals against average at 9.16 per game.
Albany (12-6, 3-3 AE), the reigning back-to-back America East champions, brings
back 14 letterwinners and three America East All-Conference performers from
last year’s squad that made the school’s second trip to the NCAA tournament. As
the No. 4 seed in last year’s championship, the Great Danes defeated the top
two seeds of the tournament in No. 1 seed Boston U. and No. 2 seed Stony Brook
to capture the title. Among the returnees include Inside Lacrosse Preseason
All-american Ariana Parker, an America East First Team All-Conference selection
in 2012. Parker had 39 goals and 15 assists during in sophomore campaign.
Fellow attacker Rachael Burek also is back after ranking second on the team in
points last year with 42. Burek and Parker combined for more than 34-percent of
the team’s scoring.
Boston U. (11-6, 6-0 AE) has won the America East regular-season or tournament
titles in seven of the last eight seasons after capturing the regular-season
crown last year. The Terriers completed their fifth unbeaten conference
regular season, but were upended in the first round of the America East
Championship by eventual champion Albany. Danielle Etrasco highlights the list
of returnees for the Terriers, as she was an IWLCA All-American a year ago and
was more recently selected to the U.S. National Team. An America East
All-Conference First Team selection last year, Etrasco finished second in the
conference in points with 80, tallying 58 goals to go with 22 assists. 2012
America East Rookie of the Year, Mallory Collins also returns to Boston U.
after scoring in every single game during her freshman campaign. The Terriers
open their season on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at home against UMass
2012 Record Votes (1st
pl) Final 2012
1. Northwestern 21-2 383 (12) 1
2. Syracuse 19-4 376 (4) 2
3. Florida 19-3 366 (3) 3
4. Maryland 19-4 349 (1) 4
5. North Carolina 15-4 321 5
6. Loyola 14-6 284 7
7. Duke 12-7 276 6
8. Virginia 11-8 229 18
9. Notre Dame 13-5 220 9
10. Penn State 12-7 208 11
11. Pennsylvania 9-8 195 12
12. Dartmouth 12-5 182 13
13. Ohio State 11-6 139 15
14. Massachusetts 19-2 112 14
15. Georgetown 9-8 108 17
16. Cornell 11-5 97 NR
17. Towson 16-4 86 16
18. Stony Brook 14-5 60 RV
19. Johns Hopkins 9-9 47 18
20. Boston College 10-8 44 19
Also receiving votes: Albany, Boston
University, Harvard, Navy, Princeton, Stanford, Vanderbilt