WINTHROP, Mass. – Coming off its best season in program history, the Regis College women's lacrosse team received four first place votes as it finished second in the 2020 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll, the results of which were released Tuesday by the league office.
The Pride totaled 132 points in the voting done by the league's 12 coaches, eight points behind defending champion Johnson & Wales. The Wildcats collected the other eight first place votes and ended up with 140 total points. During the regular season, Regis will travel to face Johnson & Wales Saturday, April 18.
Lasell finished third in the poll with 120 points, followed by a tight battle for the next three spots with Simmons placing fourth with 97 points, ahead of Colby-Sawyer with 96 points and Saint Joseph's College with 90 points. Norwich leads off the second half of the field in seventh place with 71 points, followed by Emmanuel (69 points), Albertus Magnus (48 points), Rivier (36 points), University of Saint Joseph (22 points), and Anna Maria (15 points).
Last season, after losing their season opener, the Pride rattled off 13 straight wins before falling to Johnson & Wales to conclude the regular season with a 10-1 GNAC record. Regis defeated Emmanuel and Lasell at home in the GNAC Tournament before succumbing to the Wildcats in the championship match in Providence, R.I.
Regis returns 12 players from the 2019 squad, led by GNAC Defender of the Year Meghan Sargent (Brattleboro, Vt.), GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year Brittany McPherson (Lynn, Mass.), and First Team All-GNAC honorees Kerri Anselmo (Natick, Mass.) and Maddy Rodriguez (Amherst, Mass.).
The 2020 competition schedule opens for the Pride Thursday, March 5, at Fitchburg State starting at 4 p.m., followed by a trip to Maine to take on Thomas College Saturday, March 7, at 1 p.m. Regis begins its home schedule by welcoming Salem State Tuesday, March 10 and Gordon College Thursday, March 12, with both matches set to begin at 7 p.m.