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2017 Northeast Conference Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll             1. Bryant (7)             2. Wagner (1)             3. Robert Morris             4. Sacred Heart             5. Mount St. Mary's             6. Central Connecticut             7. Saint Francis U             8. LIU Brooklyn              First place votes in parentheses

 
   
Somerset, NJ -- Northeast Conference coaches have tabbed perennial power Bryant as the unanimous NEC women's lacrosse favorite this season. The Bulldogs, who have won or shared the last three NEC regular season crowns, were picked ahead of defending NEC Tournament champion Wagner. It should be noted that coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.

Robert Morris was chosen third, followed by Sacred Heart in fourth and Mount St. Mary’s in the fifth spot. The coaches picked Central Connecticut to finish sixth with Saint Francis U and LIU Brooklyn rounding out the eight-team field.

Bryant and Wagner have dominated NEC women's lacrosse scene in recent years. The Bulldogs won the NEC championship in 2014 and 2015 before being dethroned by the Seahawks last season after the two teams tied for NEC regular season supremacy with identical 6-1 records. The NEC tournament title was the first-ever for the Wagner program.

Under the guidance of Jill Batcheller, who has won the last three NEC Coach of the Year honors, Bryant returns a number of key components to its lineup, most notably 2016 NEC Defensive Player of the Year Molly Martin (Island Park, NY/Long Beach) and 2016 NEC Rookie of the Year Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, NY/Mount Sinai). DeMeo averaged 1.88 goals per game in her first season in Smithfield to tie for eighth in the conference, and led Bryant with 32 goals on the year. She was one of two freshman across the league to earn second team All-NEC status. Martin, a senior, anchored the NEC's stingiest defense with 1.76 caused turnovers per game, good for fourth in the NEC. She also collected a team-high 37 ground balls. Martin was joined on the All-NEC first team last season by classmate Carly Cronin (Feeding Hills, MA/Wilbraham and Monson Academy), who ranked second on the Bulldogs in both ground balls (32) and caused turnovers (19). Likewise, junior goalkeeper Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, NY/Gen. Douglas MacArthur) was picked to the All-NEC first team in 2016 after posting a league-low 7.71 GAA and conference-best .511 save percentage.

While second year Wagner head coach Katie Rowan will need to fill the void left by the graduation of all-time great Shea Gegan, a number of vital pieces are back for the Seahawks in their quest to repeat. Senior defender Amanda Rey (Turnersville, NJ/Washington Township) was named to the All-NEC second team a year ago. Rey finished second on the team with 16 caused turnovers and ranked fourth with 27 ground balls. Her 36 draw controls also ranked second on the Green & White. Senior attacker Olivia Streilein (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) ended the year in the top-five on the Seahawks in goals (18), assists (14) and points (32).

Robert Morris returns All-NEC first team member Megan Wolfgang (Medina, OH/Medina) and All-NEC second team honoree Dana Davis (Garnet Valley, PA/Garnet Valley) from a Colonial squad that qualified for the NEC Tournament for a third straight season under longtime head coach Katy Phillips. Wolfgang, a senior, ranked second on the Colonials with 20 caused turnovers and third with 24 ground balls. Davis did it all for RMU last season, collecting a team-high 52 ground balls, while placing second in goals (26), assists (8) and draw controls (28), and third in points (34). She finished second in the NEC with 3.06 ground balls per game.

Other All-NEC first teamers returning this season include CCSU senior defender Courtney McPartland (North Massapequa, NY/Farmingdale), LIU Brooklyn senior attacker Jenn Peters (Slate Hill, NY/Minisink Valley) and Sacred Heart senior midfielder Caitlin Delaney (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East).
 
The 2017 regular season began on Saturday, February 4 and conference action starts up on Friday, April 7. The 2017 NEC Women’s Lacrosse Championship will be held on May 5 & 7, hosted by the top seed.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 36th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.