NEWTON, Mass. (8/28/14) – The Lasell College field hockey team was voted fourth in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference coaches poll heading into the first-ever season of competition in the GNAC. Lasell finished the 2013 campaign, their final season in the North Atlantic Conference, with a 10-10 record and a 4-5 in NAC play, advancing to the conference tournament quarterfinals before falling to St. Joseph's College of Maine.
St. Joseph's (Me.) received five first place votes and had 47 points while Simmons and Anna Maria each received one first place vote and 40 and 35 points respectively to make up the top three. Lasell finished with 31 points to rank fourth in the poll.
Lasell saw five seniors from the 2013 team depart, defenders Rachel Cronin, Jennifer McGurgan and Emily Cooper, along with midfielder Ainslee Thompson and forward Samantha Smithers. The quintet combined to appear in 88 contests a season ago, tallying 11 goals and four assists while helping the team to the second best season in program history.
Lasell returns fifteen players from a season ago, and will open their 2014 schedule on Saturday August 30th with a 12:00 p.m. matchup at home against WPI. The rest of their non-conference slate features home games against Wheelock, Wheaton, Regis, and MIT while they will face Eastern Connecticut, Salve Regina, Becker, Roger Williams, Framingham State and Colby-Sawyer all on the road.
2014 GNAC Field Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Saint Joseph's (ME) (5) - 47
2. Simmons (1) - 40
3. Anna Maria (1) - 35
4. Lasell - 31
T5. Johnson & Wales - 18
T5. Rivier - 18
7. Mount Ida - 7