James Madison Picked to Finish First in CAA Women's Lacrosse; Drexel's Karson Harris Named Preseason Player of the Year
Miles McQuiggan
RICHMOND, Va. (Jan. 28, 2022) – Drexel midfielder
Karson Harris was selected by Colonial Athletic Association women’s lacrosse coaches as CAA Preseason Player of the Year, while James Madison finished three points ahead of Drexel to be named the conference’s preseason favorite.
James Madison was ranked first on five of seven ballots and collected 35 points to Drexel’s 32. Towson, Hofstra, and Elon rounded out the top five, while Delaware and William & Mary were picked sixth and seventh.
Harris burst onto the national scene in 2021 while leading the Dragons to a historic year for the program, climbing into the top 10 nationally, winning the CAA regular season title, and earning a first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Harris scored 61 goals – a program record for Drexel – and collected 92 draws and 15 caused turnovers as the Dragons went 13-3. Harris is one of two Dragons named IL Women Preseason All-America honorees heading into the 2022 season.
James Madison was picked first in the poll of the CAA’s seven head coaches while collecting five of seven first-place votes. Two of JMU’s conference-leading four preseason all-conference selections – goalie
Molly Dougherty and defender
Rachel Matey – earned IL Women Preseason All-America honors. Attacker
Isabella Peterson and midfielder
Lizzy Fox join the preseason All-CAA contingent; Fox’s overtime winner earned JMU the CAA title in May. The Dukes defeated Johns Hopkins in their NCAA Tournament opener last May.
Drexel’s regular-season championship and top-10 ranking raised the bar entering 2022 for the Dragons, who are nationally ranked in the preseason and collected two first-place votes. The Dragons rank second in the conference with three preseason all-league honorees; two of them –
Karson Harris and
Colleen Grady – collected preseason All-America recognition from IL Women. The duo is joined by midfielder
Lucy Schneidereith on the preseason All-CAA team.
Towson was picked third in a vote of the conference’s head coaches and joins the Dukes and Dragons with multiple preseason All-CAA selections in midfielder
Blair Pearre and defender
Rayna Deltuva. The Tigers went to overtime with Drexel in the CAA Semifinals a year ago after a convincing non-conference win over a top-10 Loyola team, building the resume for an NCAA Tournament at-large selection.
Hofstra earned a fourth-place selection in the preseason poll after a 2021 campaign that included three wins over ranked opponents. The Pride earned an NCAA Tournament at-large selection for its performance last spring and enters the 2022 season with two preseason All-CAA selections – attacker
Katie Whelan and defender
Shannon Boyle.
Elon was selected fifth in the preseason poll after a 9-3 campaign last spring that included a victory over a James Madison squad ranked No. 12 nationally at the time. The Phoenix opened the season 8-0 in 2021 and return a preseason All-CAA selection in attacker
Gillian Curran.
Delaware returns to the field after an abbreviated season last spring. The Blue Hens, picked sixth in the preseason All-CAA poll, will open their season February 12 at home.
William & Mary rounds out the poll and garnered a preseason All-CAA selection in attacker
Belle Martire. The Tribe played five of its 12 games in 2021 against ranked opponents and were tied for the CAA lead in caused turnovers per game.
2022 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll
| Rank |
School (1st) |
Pts. |
| 1. |
James Madison (5) |
35 |
| 2. |
Drexel (2) |
32 |
| 3. |
Towson |
26 |
| 4. |
Hofstra |
21. |
| 5. |
Elon |
15 |
| 6. |
Delaware |
10 |
| 7. |
William & Mary |
8 |
2022 Women’s Lacrosse Preseason All-CAA
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Gillian Curran |
Elon |
Sr. |
A |
Fair Haven, N.J. |
| Colleen Grady |
Drexel |
Gr. |
A |
Glen Ridge, N.J. |
| Belle Martire |
William & Mary |
Sr. |
A |
Baltimore, Md. |
| Isabella Peterson |
James Madison |
Jr. |
A |
Sparks, Md. |
| Katie Whelan |
Hofstra |
Gr. |
A |
Long Beach, N.Y. |
| Lizzy Fox |
James Madison |
Sr. |
M |
North Rockland, N.Y. |
| Karson Harris |
Drexel |
Gr. |
M |
Great Mills, Md. |
| Blair Pearre |
Towson |
Jr. |
M |
Pikesville, Md. |
| Lucy Schneidereith |
Drexel |
Gr. |
M |
Lutherville, Md. |
| Shannon Boyle |
Hofstra |
Gr. |
D |
Huntington, N.Y. |
| Rayna Deltuva |
Towson |
Gr. |
D |
Manchester, Md. |
| Rachel Matey |
James Madison |
Sr. |
D |
Phoenixville, Pa. |
| Molly Dougherty |
James Madison |
Gr. |
GK |
Alexandria, Va. |
Preseason Player of the Year: Karson Harris, Drexel
Honorable Mention
Corinne Bednarik, Jr., A, Drexel; Zoe Bennett, Gr., GK, Drexel; Mikaela Buoscio, So., M, Elon; Maura Cissel, Gr., D. Drexel; Mairead Durkin, Sr., D, James Madison; Kacey Knobloch, Sr., A, James Madison; Olivia Malamphy, Jr., D, Towson; Belle McHugh, Jr., D, Drexel; Jess Smith, Sr., GK, Hofstra
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