A-10 Preseason Poll: St. Joe's is No. 3, La Salle No. 8

Philylacrosse.com, Posted 2/17/21
From Press Release

The Saint Joseph’s women’s lacrosse team was voted third in the Atlantic 10 Conference Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll, the league announced on Thursday afternoon. The Hawks earned 77 points in the voting conducted among the league’s head coaches.

SJU returns a strong core of veteran players, including graduate student Bridget Cerciello (Southern Lehigh), who led the Hawks in goals (20) and points (22) a season ago. Senior Stephanie Kelly, the Hawks’ leader in assists last season, totaled 19 points while ranking third on the team in goals, while classmate Sam McGee (Abington) scored 16 goals to rank second on the squad. Graduate student Penny Green returns as well after chipping in with 11 goals and five assists in 2020.

Fellow graduate student Julia Pash and junior Lindsey Smith (Springfield-Montco) anchored the Hawk defense a year ago and both are back in 2021. The pair combined for 20 caused turnovers and 35 ground balls in seven games last season. Behind them, graduate transfer goalkeeper Melissa Semkiw joins the Hawks this season after earning a pair of All-Atlantic 10 honors at George Mason during her undergraduate career.

Richmond was voted to top the league this season, earning 96 out of a possible 100 points and six of 10 first-place votes, while Massachusetts was right behind with 93 points and the remaining four first-place votes.

2021 Atlantic 10 Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll