Women's Lacrosse Tabbed Fourth in NECC Preseason Poll

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's lacrosse squad was voted fourth in the 2015 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Preseason Poll, released by the league office Monday night. The Blazers received a second-place vote, two third-place votes, and five fourth-place votes.

The Blazers will be returning 10 players, including nine starters from a 2014 squad who finished fourth in the conference with a 2-3 mark in the NECC, and a 4-11 overall record. The Elms attack will feature four players who amassed more than 20 goals last season, led by senior Kayla Narey (South Hadley, Mass.), who netted a team-high 30 goals last season. Senior Nora McDonough (South Hadley, Mass.) earned First Team All-NECC status after notching a team-high 52 points with 29 goals and 23 assists, while junior Jill Pirog (Ludlow, Mass.) claimed Honorable Mention honors after a 26-goal campaign. Senior Lauren Mazza (Agawam, Mass.) and sophomore Meeghan O'Connor (Fall River, Mass.) will be returning after dealing with injuries during the 2014 season. Mazza racked up 21 goals in the first seven games of the season before going down with an injury, and O'Connor will reign in between the pipes for Elms after missing her rookie season. Junior Emily Brown (Agawam, Mass.) anchors the Blazers defensive backfield after collecting 37 ground balls and causing 12 turnovers.

Regis College was a unanimous choice to capture the top spot in the poll. The Pride was named the number one team on all eight coach's ballots to earn a perfect 56 points in the poll. Regis is the defending NECC Champion having finished 5-0 in Conference play a year ago. The Pride was 14-3 overall and defeated Becker College 13-9 in the NECC Championship game.

Becker and Wheelock tied as the second place finisher with 42 points. The Hawks had a 3-2 record in the NECC in 2014, finishing 9-8 overall. Becker was picked second on four ballots, and earned two votes each for third and fourth. Wheelock, in 2014 was 3-2 NECC and 5-8 overall. The Wildcats had three second place, four third place and one fifth place vote.

The 2015 NECC Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Preseason Poll:

1. Regis College (80 points, 8 first place votes)
2. Becker College & Wheelock College (42 points)
3. Wheelock College (42 points)
4. Elms College (36 points)
5. Mitchell College (24 points)
6. Bay Path University (13 points)
7. Southern Vermont College (9 points)
8. Daniel Webster College (2 points)