Winthrop, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College women's lacrosse team has been picked to finish ninth in the 2020 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Preseason Poll, a jump up from their 10th-place rank a year ago. The poll, released on Tuesday afternoon, is voted on by the league's 12 head coaches.
Albertus posted program-bests in both overall record and league record in 2019, going 6-11 overall and 3-8 in league play. The women's lacrosse squad recorded wins against conference opponents the University of Saint Joseph, Anna Maria College, and Rivier University, as well as non-conference opponents Dean College, Mitchell College, and Bay Path University.
The Falcons women's lacrosse team set program-records in a host of statistical categories including goals scored (167), conference goals scored (92), saves (169), assists (67), and points (234). The Falcons also return a core of their top players, including Katherin Martinez (Norwalk, Conn.), who was named Second Team All-Conference as a sophomore. Albertus also returns six seniors, featuring Kaitlin D'Agostino (Hamden, Conn.), Kaitlyn Ellsworth (Tolland, Conn.), Sabrina Pohlig (West Palm Beach, Fla.), Nathalie Rafael (West Haven, Conn.), Victoria Torres (West Haven, Conn.) and Korina Zelaya (Trumbull, Conn.).
The Falcons earned 48 points, finishing in ninth place, ahead of Rivier (36), St. Joseph (CT) (22), and Anna Maria (15 ), who rounded out the 12.
Norwich University and Emmanuel (Mass.) College slotted in at seventh and eighth place, respectively, earning 71 points and 69 points.
Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) took the top spot in the preseason rankings with 140 points and eight of the possible 12 first-place votes. Regis (Mass.) College took second place with 132 points and secured the final four first-place votes. Lasell University took third place and received 120 points. Simmons University (97), Colby-Sawyer College (96), and Saint Joseph's College of Maine (90) finished in fourth, fifth, and sixth place, respectively.
2020 GNAC WLAX Preseason Poll
1. Johnson & Wales (8) - 140
2. Regis (4) - 132
3. Lasell - 120
4. Simmons - 97
5. Colby-Sawyer - 96
6. Saint Joseph's Maine - 90
7. Norwich - 71
8. Emmanuel - 69
9. Albertus Magnus - 48
10. Rivier - 36
11. St. Joseph (CT) - 22
12. Anna Maria - 15
To learn more about Albertus Magnus College Falcons Athletics, visit AlbertusFalcons.com and follow the Falcons on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
