BOSTON, Mass. — Back-to-back America East women’s lacrosse champion, Stony Brook University, was selected as the unanimous favorite in the 2015 preseason coaches’ poll. The Seawolves received all six possible first-place votes and 36 points in a vote of the league’s seven head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own team.
The University at Albany, which lost to the Seawolves in the 2014 America East title game, was picked second with 29 points. The University of New Hampshire came in third with 27 points, followed by the University of Vermont in fourth with 21 points. UMBC (17) and Binghamton University (11) finished fifth and sixth, respectively. UMass Lowell, which is in its first year as a program, came in seventh.
The top-four teams in the conference will advance to the America East Championship. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship, in which the league champion has advanced to the quarterfinal round twice since 2008. The league tournament, slated for May 1 and 3, will be hosted by the top seed.
1. Stony Brook Seawolves (17-4, 4-1 AE)
- Won back-to-back America East regular-season and tournament titles, while also advancing to the NCAA second round in each of the past two seasons with wins over Towson in 2013 and 2014.
- Ranked 16th in the Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Poll.
- Return 90.8 percent of its scoring, including all five of its top scorers from last season.
- Michelle Rubino, Dorrien Van Dyke and Alyssa Fleming were selected as ILWomen.com Preseason All-Americans.
- Open the season Feb. 20 vs. USC in the first of ten home games.
2. Albany Great Danes (14-3, 4-1 AE)
- Picked second after advancing to its fourth-straight America East title game in 2014.
- 2014 Co-Regular Season Champions and No. 2 seed in the America East Tournament.
- Have won 10-plus games four-straight years and have advanced to the America East tournament the last six years.
- Junior Rachel Bowles was selected as an ILWomen.com Preseason All-American. She was the America East Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2014.
- Open the season Feb. 21 at Quinnipiac.
3. New Hampshire Wildcats (7-10, 2-3 AE)
- Finished fourth in the conference last year to qualify for the America East tournament for the 16th time in 19 years.
- Return their top four scorers from 2014 including Laura McHoul (21 goals, 39 assists) and Laura Puccia (41 goals, six assists) who were both All-Conference Second Team picks.
- Start the season at Hofstra on Saturday, Feb. 14.
4. Vermont Catamounts (12-6, 3-2 AE)
- Reached the America East tournament for the second-straight season in 2014 after finishing third.
- The third-place finish was the highest for the Catamounts since placing second in 2008 while the 12 overall wins were the most in program history.
- The Catamounts return 57% of their scoring from last season and add six newcomers.
- Vermont starts the season on Saturday, Feb. 14 at Colgate.
5. UMBC Retrievers (7-9, 1-4 AE)
- Picked fifth and are looking for their first trip to the conference tournament since 2012.
- Return 20 letterwinners and seven starters from last year's squad, including its top-two point scorers in seniors Abby Wilson and Alyssa Semones.
- Wilson tabbed double-digit assists for the second-straight season and added 21 goals for a team-best 33 points, while Semones posted team-best numbers in goals (27), ground balls (37), draw controls (31) and caused turnovers (14) to earn America East All-Conference Second Team honors.
- Start the season Feb. 11 at Temple.
6. Binghamton University (7-9, 1-4 AE)
- Picked sixth and will look to qualify for the America East tournament for the first time in program history.
- Start the season Feb. 7 at Ohio State.
- Return their top-three scorers, including sophomore Brianne Arthur. Last season Arthur's 34 goals set a Binghamton record for freshman goals in a season.
7. UMass Lowell
- Begin their first season as a women's lacrosse program in 2015.
- Battle Massachusetts in program's first game on Saturday, Feb. 14.
- The River Hawks inaugural roster features 21 freshmen, one junior and one sophomore.
| Rank |
Team (1st-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Stony Brook (6) |
36 |
| 2 |
Albany |
29 |
| 3 |
New Hampshire (1) |
27 |
| 4 |
Vermont |
21 |
| 5 |
UMBC |
17 |
| 6 |
Binghamton |
11 |
| 7 |
UMass Lowell |
6 |