UB Women's Lacrosse Slotted Number Five In 2021 ECC Preseason Poll
Team Won Five Of Six Contests Last Year
West Babylon, N.Y. – The East Coast Conference's women's lacrosse coaches unanimously chose Mercy College for first place in the league's preseason poll released on Friday. Roberts Wesleyan's Emily Tomei (Webster, N.Y.) and Mercy's Micayla Brady (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) were also selected by the coaches as the conference's Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively.
Mercy received all six first place votes to top the poll with 36 points. After winning their first-ever ECC Championship in 2019, the Mavericks were off to a 4-1 start to the 2020 campaign before COVID-19 halted collegiate sports throughout the country. The Mavericks also begin the season ranked No. 12 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II Preseason Poll.
Roberts Wesleyan was the poll's runner-up with 28 points. Like Mercy, the Redhawks begin the year in the IWLCA Top-25, coming in at No. 24. Molloy and St. Thomas Aquinas are next at No. 3 and No. 4, joining Mercy and Roberts as expected ECC Championship participants.
Bridgeport at No. 5 and ECC newcomer, D'Youville at No. 6, round out the remainder of the poll. The ECC's seventh women's lacrosse member, University of the District of Columbia, has opted out of the 2021 season.
Tomei earns the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year award after a hot start to the 2020 campaign that helped propel Roberts Wesleyan to their first-ever national ranking. A former ECC Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Conference pick continued her excellent career with 19 goals, 22 points, and 29 draw controls over the Redhawks' five games a season ago.
Brady takes the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honor. In 2020, she led the ECC with 13 caused turnovers in just five games. This comes after a successful freshman season that saw Brady earn All-Conference First Team and IWLCA All-Region Second Team accolades after finishing with 41 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers in addition to four goals and six assists.
Look for the Purple Knights 2021 season schedule to be released in the coming days.
2021 ECC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. | Last Year's Record |
| 1. Mercy (6) | 36 | 4-1 (0-0 ECC) |
| 2. Roberts Wesleyan | 28 | 4-1 (0-0 ECC) |
| 3. Molloy | 23 | 2-3 (0-0 ECC) |
| 4. St. Thomas Aquinas | 19 | 5-2 (0-0 ECC) |
| 5. Bridgeport | 13 | 5-1 (1-0 ECC) |
| 6. D'Youville | 7 | 2-1 (n/a) |
( ) - first place votes
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Emily Tomei, Sr., M, Roberts Wesleyan
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Micayla Brady, Jr., M, Mercy