James Madison Tabbed as CAA Women's Lacrosse Preseason Favorites
RICHMOND, Va. (Jan. 30, 2020) – James Madison has been selected as the preseason favorite to capture the 2020 CAA women’s lacrosse title by a vote of league’s seven head coaches.
The Dukes earned 35 points and five first-place votes, while Hofstra was the runner-up with 31 points and two first-place votes. Towson was picked third with 26 points, and Delaware was placed fourth with 18 points. Drexel and Elon were picked tied for fifth with 14 points each, and William & Mary rounded out the poll with nine points.
Hofstra’s Alyssa Parrella, the 2019 CAA Player of the Year, collected CAA Preseason Player of the Year honors. Parrella was a third team Inside Lacrosse and Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association All-American, and was recently named to Inside Lacrosse's DI Preseason All-American Second Team.
James Madison captured its third consecutive CAA title in 2019, defeating Hofstra 13-3 in the CAA Championship game. The Dukes set a CAA Championship record for fewest goals allowed in a CAA title game, and it was the program's largest margin of victory in a championship final. The Dukes closed last season with a first-round defeat at the hands of #15 Stony Brook in the NCAA Tournament, falling 10-9 in overtime.
The Dukes open the season ranked #17 in the IWLCA Division I Coaches Poll and #14 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Preseason Top 20. The Dukes return eight starters from last year's squad, including Preseason All-CAA honorees Maddie McDaniel, Emma Johnson, All-American goalkeeper Molly Dougherty, Logan Brennan and Kelsey Reed. McDaniel set the CAA’s single-season draw control record last season with a total of 127.
Hofstra closed out last season with a trip to the CAA title game, its sixth in program history and first since 2013. The Pride closed out the season with a 12-7 record, its most wins in a season since the 2009 campaign. Leading the Pride in 2020 will be Preseason All-CAA honorees Parrella, Alexa Mattera, Jess Smith and Darcie Smith. Parrella totaled 105 points on 85 goals and 20 assists in 2019. She established new school single season records for goals and points with those totals and her goal total was also the CAA single season record and the point total ranks second all-time in CAA history. Darcie Smith established a new Hofstra single season mark with 121 draw controls last season.
Towson comes into the 2020 campaign after closing out the 2019 CAA season 5-1, finishing second in the league during the regular season. Towson was among one of the top defensive teams in the CAA in 2019. The Tigers led the CAA in caused turnovers last season, and Sami Chenoweth set a new CAA single-season record with 64 caused turnovers. Olivia Conti and Kaitlin Thornton also return to lead the Tigers this season.
Delaware, under the guidance of new head coach Amy Altig, hopes to return to the CAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons. Altig comes to Newark following nine seasons at Penn State University, where she spent time as an assistant coach and most recently as the program's associate head coach. The Blue Hens had Mia DeRuggiero named to the Preseason All-CAA team. DeRuggiero started all 17 games for Delaware in 2019 and led the Blue Hens with 73 points on 53 assists and 20 goals. DeRuggiero was a first team All-CAA honoree in 2019.
Elon made the CAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season in 2019. The Phoenix were led offensively by Mae McGlynn, who totaled 45 points on 42 goals and three assists. Elon also returns 2019 CAA Rookie of the Year, Kaley Thompson. Thompson scored 33 goals and led the Phoenix with 61 draw controls in 2019.
Drexel’s Colleen Grady and Karson Harris were named to Preseason All-CAA team. Grady (35 g, 19 a) and Harris (35 g, 17 a) drove the Dragon offense last season. William & Mary’s Belle Martire rounded out the Preseason All-CAA team. Martire led all CAA freshman with 3.00 goals per game. The Tribe will see a new face at the helm this season, as Colleen Dawson starts her first season as head coach of William & Mary.
The 2020 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship is scheduled to take place from April 30 to May 2 at James Madison’s Sentara Park. The semifinals are set for April 30, while the final will occur on May 2. All three games of the CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship will be streamed live on Lax Sports Network.
| 2020 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Predicted Order of Finish |
| 1. |
James Madison |
35 (5) |
|
| 2. |
Hofstra |
31 (2) |
|
| 3. |
Towson |
26 |
|
| 4. |
Delaware |
18 |
|
| T5. |
Drexel |
14 |
|
|
Elon |
14 |
|
| 7. |
William & Mary |
9 |
|
|
| 2020 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Colleen Grady |
Drexel |
Jr. |
A |
Glen Ridge, N.J. |
| Belle Martire |
William & Mary |
So. |
A |
Houston, Texas |
| Alyssa Parrella |
Hofstra |
Sr. |
A |
Miller Place, N.Y. |
| Kaitlin Thornton |
Towson |
Jr. |
A |
Stony Brook, N.Y. |
| Mia DeRuggiero |
Delaware |
Sr. |
M |
Baltimore, Md. |
| Karson Harris |
Drexel |
Jr. |
M |
Great Mills, Md. |
| Alexa Mattera |
Hofstra |
Sr. |
M |
East Islip, N.Y. |
| Maddie McDaniel |
James Madison |
Sr. |
M |
Severna Park, Md. |
| Sami Chenoweth |
Towson |
Sr. |
D |
Manchester, Md. |
| Olivia Conti |
Towson |
Sr. |
D |
Wantagh, N.Y. |
| Emma Johnson |
James Madison |
Sr. |
D |
Laurel, Md. |
| Molly Dougherty |
James Madison |
R-Jr. |
GK |
Alexandria, Va. |
Honorable Mention: Jess Smith, Hofstra (So., GK), Logan Brennan, James Madison (Sr., A), Darcie Smith, Hofstra (Sr., D), Kelsey Reed, James Madison (Sr., M)
|
| CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Alyssa Parrella, Hofstra |