Healey earned All-NE10 third team honors last spring and totaled 35 goals, nine assists, 59 draw controls, 25 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Skyhawks open 2020 season February 29 at defending national champions Adelphi
NE10 Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll Announcement
EASTON, Mass. (January 31, 2020) – The Stonehill College women's lacrosse team has been picked to finish seventh in the Northeast-10 Conference by the league's 14 head coaches, the Conference announced.
Stonehill received 96 points from the NE10's head coaches, nine points higher than eighth place Saint Anselm College (87 points). Reigning NCAA Division II Champions Adelphi University is picked first in the poll with 168 points and 12 of the 14 first place votes, while defending NE10 regular season champions Le Moyne College is second with 158 points and the two remaining first place votes. The University of New Haven (132 points) is third, Pace University (131) fourth, Assumption College (128) fifth and Bentley University (111) sixth, with Stonehill seventh and Saint Anselm rounding out the predicted NE10 Tournament spots.
Stonehill head coach Katie Conover, '03 is at the helm for the 13th season and returns 12 letterwinners who saw regular starts from the 2019 squad that finished with a 9-9 record overall, including 6-7 in the NE10 for eighth in the Conference standings to return to the NE10 Tournament for a Conference-record 20th time in 21 seasons. The Skyhawks finished eighth in the NE10 for scoring offense, averaging 12.1 goals per game, while ranking ninth in scoring defense at 11.78 goals allowed per game.
Sharretts also earned All-NE10 third team honors last season for her efforts in midfield (PHOTO BY Nancy Wright Photography) |
Senior Kaity Healey and junior Emily Sharretts headline Stonehill's 18 returnees from last year's squad, having both earned All-NE10 third team honors. Healey has started 39 of her 40 games played over her three seasons at Stonehill, including all 18 a year ago when she finished second on the team in scoring with 44 points, totaling 35 goals and nine assists, while adding a team-high matching 59 draw controls, 25 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. Sharretts also collected 59 draws and added a team-best 41 ground balls (7th NE10) and 24 caused turnovers, while chipping in with two assists.
Senior Jennifer Wheaton is Stonehill's top returning scorer with 58 points after dishing out a team-high 30 assists (7th NE10) to go with 28 goals. Sophomore Emma Sullivan, an NE10 All-Rookie Team selection last spring, finished third on the team in scoring with 42 points, posting 34 goals and eight assists, to go with 27 ground balls, 29 draw controls and 15 caused turnovers. Junior Shannon Hughes netted a team-high 38 goals last season, adding three assists for 41 points, while freshman Kendall Fressle joined Sullivan on the NE10 All-Rookie Team and chipped in 29 goals and four assists for 33 points.
Senior Bailey Grant and junior Kaleigh Wright are Stonehill's two returning goalkeepers after both seeing time last season. Grant has started 47 of her 49 career games played in the Skyhawks goal over her career, including all 18 games last season, posting a 12.83 goals against average and .453 save percentage (5th NE10), while averaging 7.7 saves per game (9th) in 785:50. She enters her senior year ranked sixth in program history with 359 career saves, while her 24 career wins rank seventh all-time. Wright played 298:31 over 11 games last spring and recorded an 8.84 GAA and .443 save percentage with 4.4 saves per game.
Grant is a three-year start in goal for the Skyhawks and looks to continue climbing Stonehill's all-time career lists in saves and wins (PHOTO BY Nancy Wright Photography) |
Senior Jill McIntire, junior Liz Katsoulis and sophomore Lindsay Duggan are returning starters in support of Grant and Wright on defense. Katsoulis collected 38 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers, while Duggan totaled 23 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers and McIntire chipped in 21 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers.
Stonehill also welcomes ten freshmen to this year's squad, marking the second-straight year Coach Conover has had a first year class that large.
Stonehill opens its 2020 schedule at Adelphi University, opening its NE10 schedule against the reigning national champions, on Saturday, February 29, at 1 p.m. The Skyhawks home opener is an NE10 matchup with Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday, March 17, at 3:30 p.m. For the fifth straight year, all home Stonehill women's lacrosse games will be streamed by SkyhawksVision on the NE10 NOW streaming platform, powered by Stretch Internet, at portal.stretchinternet.com/stonehill available online as well as through or through Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku apps.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
