Women’s Lacrosse Picked 10th in NE10 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Northeast-10 Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll
RINDGE, N.H. (February 6, 2018) – One year removed from the program’s first postseason appearance since 2009, the Franklin Pierce University women’s lacrosse team will look to qualify for the Northeast-10 Conference Championship in back-to-back years for the first time in program history in 2018. In the NE10 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the league’s coaches have picked the Ravens to finish 10th, out of 14 teams.
The 10th-place selection has the Ravens (7-9, 5-8 NE10 in 2017) picked to narrowly miss said return trip to the postseason, as only the top eight finishers will advance to the NE10 Championship at season’s end. Franklin Pierce picked up 68 points in the poll, which left them only 11 points behind Saint Anselm (6-11, 4-9 NE10), which was picked eighth.
At the top of the poll, defending national champion and four-time defending NE10 champion Adelphi (21-1, 12-1 NE10) collected 167 points and 11 of 14 available first-place votes, as the Panthers were picked to defend their NE10 crown yet again. Adelphi head coach Pat McCabe (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams), along with two other NE10 coaches, picked Le Moyne (19-2, 13-0 NE10) to finish in the top spot, as the Dolphins garnered the remaining three first-place votes and 159 points to rank second.
Behind Le Moyne, New Haven (15-5, 11-2 NE10) with 141 points, Pace (11-6, 9-4 NE10) with 124 points and Stonehill (12-7, 10-3 NE10) with 123 points rounded out the poll’s spots. Adelphi, Le Moyne, New Haven and Stonehill have combined to capture the last 18 NE10 titles.
Merrimack (4-13, 2-11 NE10), which was picked 11th in the league, is set to be the first NE10 member to open the 2018 season, as the Warriors travel to Roberts Wesleyan for a non-conference tilt on Feb. 12. At the end of the season, the quarterfinal round of the NE10 Championship is scheduled for May 2, with semifinals and the title game to follow on May 5-6.
For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics’ official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce baseball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics’ online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).