NEW YORK, N.Y. – With the return of senior midfielders Nicole Marzocca (North Babylon, N.Y.) and Christy Thoden (Bayport, N.Y.), Farmingdale State has been selected to defend its Skyline women's lacrosse crown in voting conducted by the league's eight head coaches.
The Rams earned six first-place votes and 48 overall points, while 2014 runner-up St. Joseph's-L.I. received 44 total points and garnered a pair of first-place votes.
FSC compiled an 18-2 overall record last season while advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. Thoden, the reigning Skyline Player of the Year, led the conference in draw controls (155) while amassing 46 goals and 39 assists. Marzocca was the league-leader in both assists (47) and points (106) while also tallying a team-high 59 goals. Both players were named to the 2014 IWLCA All-Region team.
Bolstered by the return of junior midfielder Heather Ferchland, who led the Skyline with 67 goals, St. Joseph's-L.I. seeks to build upon its program-best 15-win campaign in 2014. The Golden Eagles allowed an average of just 8.73 goals per game last season, the fewest in the conference.
Mount Saint Mary finished third in the preseason poll with 37 total points. The Knights posted a 5-2 mark in Skyline play a year ago and welcome back sophomore attack Katie Gattoni, who led the team in both goals (44) and points (51) in 2014.
Mount Saint Vincent placed fourth in the voting with 27 points, followed by Purchase (25), Maritime (17), Sage (16) and Old Westbury (10).
The semifinals of the four-team 2015 Skyline Women's Lacrosse Championship will be held on Wednesday, Apr. 29, with the finals scheduled for Saturday, May 2. The champion will receive the league's automatic berth to the 2015 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship.
2015 Preseason Coaches Poll - Points
1. Farmingdale State (6) - 48
2. St. Joseph's-L.I. (2) - 44
3. Mount Saint Mary - 37
4. Mount Saint Vincent - 27
5. Purchase - 25
6. Maritime - 17
7. Sage - 16
8. Old Westbury - 10
(First-place votes in parentheses)
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