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| Jacklyn Craig was the Skyhawks lone First Team All-American last season |
Skyhawks Tied For Fifth In IWCLA Preseason Poll
Easton, Mass. - The Stonehill Skyhawks women's lacrosse team is tied for fifth in the Intercollegiate Women's Coaches Lacrosse Association preseason poll released on Tuesday.
The Skyhawks return a wealth of talent to a 14-3 team that captured the program's tenth straight Northeast-10 regular season and tournament titles, going undefeated in league play.
Senior co-captain Michelle Kelly (Mendham, N.J.) leads a charge of 14 returning players, four of the top six scorers and three All-Americans. Kelly, the 2008 Northeast-10 player of the year, looks to continue her assault on the Stonehill record books this season. after a junior campaign that saw her lead the team in goals (62), assists (29) and points (91). The senior enters the season ranked fifth in goals scored (165), sixth in assists (71), and sixth in total points (236) in school history.
The Skyhawks will also lean on junior All-Americans Liza Gross (Loudonville, N.Y.) and Jaclyn Craig (Rocky Point, N.Y.), as well senior Mary Maloney (Great River, N.Y.) and sophomore back Devin O'Leary (Framingham, Mass.). Gross, a Second Team All-American choice was fourth on the team in scoring and had a team high 61 draw controls while Craig, the school's lone All-American first team selection, anchored a defense that only gave up 6.48 goals per game.
Maloney, meanwhile, had 52 points (43 goals, nine assists) as a junior, while O'Leary appeared in 16 games, starting six a season ago.
Stepping into goal for the Skyhawks will be senior Justine Ferland (Portsmouth, N.H.), who spent last season behind Amanda McGeachey, but has played in parts of nine games in her career and only allowed three goals in almost 70 minutes of action last year.
Stonehill is also looking for their first trip to the NCAA tournament in three years but the path won't be easy. The Skyhawks play each of the top three teams in the country, in West Chester, C.W. Post and Adelphi. Newcomer to the NE-10 New Haven is also ranked ninth in the preseason poll.
Stonehill opens its regular season on March 26 when they play host to American International.