With the Griffins preparing to depart for their season opener at King’s College (4:00 p.m.), the Atlantic East Conference (AEC) has officially released the results of the 2022 AEC Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll. The league’s six head coaches placed Cabrini University atop the forecasted standings with 25 total points and five of the six available first-place votes. Meanwhile, Gwynedd Mercy University was selected for a sixth-place finish with a total of eight points.

The remaining first-place vote went to Marymount University, who finished second behind the Cavaliers with 21 total points. The remainder of the AEC poll included Marywood University (16 total points), Neumann University (10), Immaculata University (10), and the Griffins.

Cabrini University returns all seven 2021 All-AEC performers to a roster that owned an 8-3 overall mark and 6-0 league standing after collecting their second straight AEC title and the conference’s first automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament. The Cavaliers nearly swept the 2021 AEC major awards, offering the league’s Player of the Year in senior Dana Carlson (Springfield, Pa.), Rookie of the Year in sophomore Olivia Pace (Springfield, Pa.), and Defensive Player of the Year in senior Shea Neary (Logan Township, N.J.); all were All-AEC First Team selections.

Marymout University – who garnered the 2021 AEC Coaching Staff of the Year title – also returns all five of their All-AEC performers. The Saints finished 2021 with a 7-3 overall mark and a 5-1 league standing after losing the championship bout to the Cavaliers by a 21-11 final.

Headlining Gwynedd Mercy University’s key returnees are captains, senior defender Seydel Acuna (Philadelphia, Pa.), senior attack/midfielder Laura Pelczar (Philadelphia, Pa.), and junior goalkeeper Reilly Owens (Pottstown, Pa.), as well as All-AEC First Team midfielder, junior Damali Teagle (Philadelphia, Pa.). Teagle recorded all 12 of her points with goals (12) and played a big factor in ball control last season with a team-high 33 draw controls, 15 ground balls, and a pair of caused turnovers. Pelczar matched Teagle’s offensive production – 12 points; 10 goals, 2 assists – while recording 15 draw controls, eight ground balls, and eight caused turnovers of her own. Acuna was an All-AEC Second Team performer with a dozen (12) ground balls and nine caused turnovers, while Owens was the All-AEC First Team goalkeeper with a league-high 88 saves on a 14.38 goals-against average (GAA) and a .433 save percentage (SV%).

The Gwynedd Mercy University women’s lacrosse season begins today, Wednesday, February 16, as they visit King’s College (PA) for a 4:00 p.m. opening draw.