WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College women's lacrosse team is less than a week away from opening its 2020 competition schedule as the Pride look to continue their progress from last season, the best in program history.
Courtney Duggan enters her seventh season at the helm of the women's lacrosse program, bringing a career record of 82-29 (.739) into the year. Chris Hixson once again joins Duggan as an assistant coach along with first-year assistant coach Megan Albertsen, a two-year captain at UMass Lowell.
The Pride welcome back 12 players that were part of the 2019 squad that posted a 15-3 overall record, won 13 matches in a row, and advanced to the championship match of the GNAC Tournament. Regis will have six newcomers to this year's team, including five multi-sport student-athletes playing lacrosse for the first time within the program.
The attack will be led by senior tri-captain Kerri Anselmo (Natick, Mass.), the team leader last year with 40 assists and 88 total points to go along with 48 goals. She is already the Regis all-time assists leader with 80 career helpers, plus she is third in school history in career points (251) and tied for third in career goals (171).
Three other players with at least 20 goals last season also return for the Pride: senior Brooke Ross (Hanover, Mass.) with 27 goals last season and juniors Jordyn Ringuette (Colchester, Conn.) and Rachel Nadeau (Coventry, Conn.) with 28 and 21 goals, respectively. Ross also led the team last season with 47 draw controls, moving her into fourth place on the Regis all-time list with 118 career draw controls.
Senior tri-captain Meghan Sargent (Brattleboro, Vt.) was the GNAC Defender of the Year last season after causing 42 turnovers, second-most in a single season in program history. Two 2019 All-GNAC selections, senior Maddy Rodriguez (Amherst, Mass.) and sophomore Brooke Greatorex (Gorham, Maine), look to help Sargent anchor the Pride defense as it enters the 2020 campaign.
The 2019 GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year is also back for the Pride, as Brittany McPherson (Lynn, Mass.) enters her second season as the starter in net as well as her first year as a captain. Last season, McPherson posted a 7.82 goals against average and a .532 save percentage with 160 total saves, including a career-high 15 saves in the GNAC Tournament championship match at Johnson & Wales.
In the 2020 GNAC preseason poll, Regis received four first place votes to finish second behind only defending conference champion Johnson & Wales. In the regular season, the Pride will travel to Providence, R.I., to face the Wildcats Saturday, April 18. Another conference match to watch is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, when Regis plays at Lasell, a team the Pride defeated twice at home by just a single goal, including in the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament.
Regis opens the 2020 season at Fitchburg State next Thursday, March 5, with a 4 p.m. start. The home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, against Salem State beginning at 7 p.m., with the first match of the GNAC slate set for Saturday, March 14, at Colby-Sawyer College starting at 1 p.m.