WOMEN’S LACROSSE TIES FOR FIRST PLACE IN NORTHEAST-10 CONFERENCE COACHES POLL

South Easton, Mass. – The Le Moyne College women's lacrosse has finished in a tie for first place in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason coaches poll, as voted upon by the league's 13 head coaches and announced by the conference office on Thursday afternoon.

Adelphi, which has won the regular season and championship title each of the two years it's been in the conference, received seven first-place votes and 137 total points in the poll. The Dolphins, who only lost to Adelphi last season in their first year of Division II play, also earned 137 points to tie for the top spot, while garnering five first-place votes.

Stonehill, which fell to the Dolphins in the conference semifinals last year, placed third in the poll with 119 points, while Merrimack was picked to repeat as the fourth-place team with 111 points, including the final first-place vote. New Haven registered 95 points to land in the fifth spot, while Bentley was selected to round out the expected playoff field with 84 points.

Southern New Hampshire garnered 78 points to place seventh, while crosstown rival Saint Anselm was eighth with 62 points. Assumption tallied 56 points for ninth place, Franklin Pierce recorded 45 points to place 10th, and American International was 11th with 39 points, while Saint Michael's and Southern Connecticut State rounded out the poll with 31 and 20 points, respectively.

The Dolphins return 13 letterwinners, including seven starters from last year's 18-3 squad that advanced to the NCAA semifinals, for 2012. The offense, which ranked fourth in the nation last year by scoring 16.76 goals per game, returns a pair of players that registered over 50 points last year. Senior All-American attacker Brittany Brigandi (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy/UMass) found the back of the net a nation and program-best 87 times last year, while also dishing out 19 assists for 106 points, a program record and tied for the fourth-highest in the country. Junior attacker Brenna Bauer (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) tallied 56 points (fourth on the team) 30 goals and a team-best 26 assists, which ranked fifth in the conference and 31st nationally. Defensively, the Dolphins return junior all-region honoree Molly Maroney (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) and senior goalkeeper Kelly Fucillo (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee), who has started all 53 Le Moyne games over the last three years. Le Moyne finished 2011 third nationally in scoring defense at 6.52 goals per game, the lowest average in the program's history by over two goals.

Le Moyne opens the season on Saturday, February 25 against Notre Dame College at 3:00 p.m. The six-team conference championship begins on Wednesday, May 3 with first round action. The semifinals and finals, which will be hosted by the regular season champion, will take place on Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6.

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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 (1) – 111, 5. New Haven – 95, 6. Bentley – 84, 7. Southern 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. Southern Connecticut – 20.
( ) – Indicates number of first-place votes