WINTHROP, Mass. – With eight first-place votes and 138 points, Lasell College took first place in the 2014 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
Lasell (17-4-1, 10-0-1 GNAC) topped Suffolk University in last year's GNAC title game, marking the Lasers' fourth straight conference crown, before being bested by Messiah in NCAA Tournament play.
Returning for Lasell is the twin-sister duo of seniors Bridget and Kayla Lynch for the 2014 campaign, as Bridget registered 33 goals and seven assists for 73 points last season on her way to being named the 2013 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year, as well as the GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Kayla tallied 12 goals and six assists for 30 points last year, while sophomore Devon Day is also back after registering eight goals and eight helpers in her rookie season.
Albertus Magnus (14-5-3, 9-2-0 GNAC) finished second in the poll with two first-place votes and 121 points overall, while Saint Joseph's College of Maine (15-3-1, 9-2-0 GNAC) came in third with 114 points and one first-place tally. Emmanuel College (10-8-3, 7-2-2 GNAC) took the fourth position with 99 points and Simmons College (8-11-1, 5-6-0 GNAC) rounded out the top-five with 97 points.
The University of Saint Joseph (10-5-3, 6-2-3 GNAC) finished sixth with 85 points, followed by Johnson & Wales University (6-11-3, 4-5-2 GNAC) with 80 points, Suffolk (7-12-1, 6-5-0 GNAC) with 76 points, Mount Ida College (3-14, 2-9 GNAC) with 42 points, Rivier University (5-11-1, 3-8-0 GNAC) with 38 points, Norwich University (1-16, 1-10 GNAC) with 25 points and Anna Maria College (4-12-1, 0-11-0 GNAC) with 21 points.
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
2014 GNAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
| 1. Lasell (8) - 138 |
| 2. Albertus Magnus (2) - 121 |
| 3. Saint Joseph's (1) - 114 |
| 4. Emmanuel - 99 |
| 5. Simmons - 97 |
| 6. Saint Joseph (CT) - 85 |
| 7. Johnson & Wales - 80 |
| 8. Suffolk (1) - 76 |
| 9. Mount Ida - 42 |
| 10. Rivier - 38 |
| 11. Norwich - 25 |
| 12. Anna Maria - 21 |
( ) - indicates number of first-place votes
– #theGNAC –
Follow Saint Joseph's Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
