|
| Senior Michelle Kelly is the reigning NE-10 Player of the Year |
Skyhawks Ranked 6th In Lax Magazine Preseason Poll
Easton, Mass. - The Stonehill women's lacrosse program will open the 2009 season ranked sixth in the country by Lax Magazine, it was announced by the publication earlier this week.
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.
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). She enters her senior 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 junior Jackie Ladino (North Dartmouth, Mass.). Gross was fourth on the team in scoring and had a team high 61 draw controls while Craig anchored a defense that only gave up 6.48 goals per game.
Maloney, meanwhile, had 52 points (43 goals, nine assists) as a junior, and Ladino registered 21 goals and 19 groundballs.
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 season.
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 the top three teams in the preseason poll during the regular season as well as Northeast-10 newcomer, New Haven, the nation's ninth ranked team.
Stonehill opens its regular season on March 26 when they play host to American International.