Orange Ranked No. 7 in Preseason Poll
1/12/2010 2:55:54 PM | Women's Lacrosse
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse women's lacrosse team is ranked No. 7 in Lacrosse Magazine's preseason poll. The Orange is one of three BIG EAST teams ranked in the top 10.
Under the direction of third-year head coach Gary Gait, Syracuse returns seven starters from last year's squad that won a share of the BIG EAST title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Orange finished the season with 14 victories, the second-highest total in school history.
Seniors Christina Dove and Halley Quillinan will lead the SU offense. Dove enters the season ranked second on Syracuse's career record list for points (238) and goals (181). She earned second-team All-America honors and was the BIG EAST co-Midfielder of the Year after leading the team with 59 goals. Her seven game-winning goals ranked first in the BIG EAST. Quillinan is fourth on both Syracuse's all-time scoring (186) and goals scored (158) leader list. She earned All-America Third Team honors last season when she recorded 52 points.
The defense will be anchored by senior Lindsay Rogers and goalkeeper Liz Hogan. Rogers set a school record last season with 56 draw controls, while Hogan led the league with a 9.58 goals-against average. Both were All-Northeast Region First Team picks. Hogan was voted to the All-BIG EAST First Team, while Rogers was a second-team selection.
Five-time defending national champion Northwestern is ranked No. 1 in the poll, followed by Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Duke. BIG EAST foes Georgetown (No. 6) and Notre Dame (No.9) joined the Orange in the top 10.
Syracuse opens the season on Feb. 19 against Colgate at 4 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.
