Limestone Women’s Lacrosse Voted No. 1 in Preseason Poll for Sixth Straight Year

Limestone Women’s Lacrosse Voted No. 1 in Preseason Poll for Sixth Straight Year

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High Point, NC - Conference Carolinas women’s lacrosse head coaches voted Limestone number one for the sixth consecutive year. A 17-2 record, fifth straight league regular season and tournament championships and a fifth consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearance once again have Limestone College women’s lacrosse as the preseason favorite in the Conference Carolinas preseason poll.

Junior attack Sarah Oor shattered the program’s single season assist record with 56 (the previous mark was 41) and is now third all-time with 85 after just two seasons. No stranger to finding the back of the net herself, she also added 34 goals, good for fourth on the club, and finished with 90 points, just one shy of tying the program’s single season mark.

The other offensive minded First-Team All-American back from a year ago is reigning Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year, sophomore attack Sam McCarrick. In just her first year of collegiate lacrosse, McCarrick played in all 19 games, starting 18, and delivered the second-most goals on the team with 40, added 10 assists for 50 points and had 28 groundballs, 27 draw controls and nine caused turnovers. On the defensive end, Limestone returns 2011 IWLCA First-Team All-American senior goalkeeper Rashelle McLellan and senior defender Skylar Marcoux, a 2012 IWLCA Second-Team All-American.

McLellan, after missing time due to injury a year ago, is set to regain her 2011 form in which she started all 20 games and posted a 7.28 goals against average (ranking fourth in the nation), .534 save percentage (second in the country) and led the Saints to the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship Game, finishing with an 18-2 record. That season she was also named a USACOLLEGELACROSSE.com and Synapse Sports Second-Team All-American and IWLCA All-Region First-Team selection.

For the fourth-straight season, Pfeiffer University has been selected second in the annual coaches’ poll. The Falcon team has been picked to finish second in the annual Conference Carolinas preseason coaches’ poll after a 9-8 season in 2012. Senior Shannon Bonnel will return for her final campaign leading the offense after starting all 17 matches with a 46-goal, 16-assist outing a year ago racking up 56 points.

In addition to Bonnel, sophomores Kristi Korn and Sarah Daly will join Bonnel on the front line to help lead the Lady Falcon offense. Korn found the back of the net 26 times last season adding eight assists while Daly scored 22 while helping on 12. Junior Katherine Athens will help control the midfield area scoring 14 goals a season ago while both goalkeepers return in Jamie Alcala and Rachel McCarthy. Alcala made 12 starts a year ago with 93 saves in 656 minutes while McCarthy turned away 51 shots in 372 minutes.
 

In addition to Wilson, Pfeiffer brought in six newcomers for 2013 while returning four first team all-conference selections (Athens, Bonnel, Laura Shea and Britton Muir) while Athens and Bonnel each racked up postseason award as IWLCA All-Region team members for the South Region.

Despite losing three all-conference team members to graduation, including 2012 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Brittany Philip, the Queens University of Charlotte Royals remain a top contender in the hunt for a conference championship. Midfielder Brittany Barnwell, who netted 44 goals last season, will be expected to continue her aggressive play on the field, leading Queens’ offense. On the defensive end, goalkeeper Danielle Horoschak and defender Akasha Kasper, a 2011 all-American, will be looked upon to lead on the defensive end of the field. Senior defender Allie Rhodes also returns after leading the team with 36 caused turnovers in 2012.
  

Rounding out the women’s lacrosse preseason poll 4-7 was: Belmont AbbeyErskine, Converse, Mount Olive and Lees-McRae respectively.

Conference Carolinas Pre-Season Coaches Poll

(First place votes in parentheses)

1.      Limestone College     (7)   49
2.      Pfeiffer University (1)   39
3. Queens University of Charlotte      37
4.      Belmont Abbey College   35
5.      Erskine College   23
6.      Converse College   19
7.      Mount Olive College   13
8.      Lees-McRae College   9