Salisbury earned the top spot in the 2021 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll. The Sea Gulls compiled four first-place votes and 16 points, edging out Mary Washington (12 points) as the preseason favorite in a vote among the conference head coaches.
St. Mary's took third in the poll with 10 points and one first-place vote, while Christopher Newport landed in fourth place with eight points. The preseason poll concluded with Southern Virginia in fifth with four points.
The C2C Tournament will feature all five teams this spring beginning with the first round contest on Saturday, April 24, semifinal games on Wednesday, April 28 and culminating with the championship match on Saturday, May 1.
2021 C2C Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
Rank |
Institution |
Points (First-Place Votes) |
| 1. | Salisbury | 16 (4) |
| 2. | Mary Washington | 12 |
| 3. | St. Mary's | 10 (1) |
| 4. | Christopher Newport | 8 |
| 5. | Southern Virginia | 4 |
Below is a brief preview of each team entering the 2021 campaign:
1) SALISBURY enters the 2021 season as the seventh- and eighth-ranked team in the nation, according to the IWLCA and U.S. Lacrosse preseason rankings. The SU returners is highlighted by two-time All-American senior Alexis Strobel. Strobel dished out 13 assists while scoring seven goals for 20 points in the shortened 2020 season. Senior Lydia McNulty will join in the offense while fellow seniors Carrie Hesen and Kate Lamberti are expected to lead the Sea Gull defense.
2) MARY WASHINGTON opens the new season with a new head coach in Maddie Taghon, and are ranked 14th in the IWLCA national preseason poll. The emergence of goalie Reilly Miller in 2020 gives the Eagles a top rate keeper. Also back is All-America candidate Rylie Cole at defense, and leading returning scorers Rebecca Pullen, Kayla Sarazin, and Kennedy King.
3) The ST. MARY'S COLLEGE OF MARYLAND women's lacrosse team enters their 2021 campaign after a shortened 2020 season where they finished the year with a 5-2 record. The Seahawks, led by sixth year head coach Erin McDonnell, return 19 student-athletes from last year's roster including eight starters and two of their top three scorers. Kelly Emge was the Seahawks second leading scorer last season with 19 goals and seven assists for a total of 26 points. Lucy Gussio finished third on the team in scoring last year with 17 goals and six assists for a total of 23 points. The Seahawks welcome six newcomers to their roster.
4) CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT comes into 2021 with a veteran roster that features eight of the team's top-nine scorers from last season. Among the experienced contributors, Kendall Krause and Sam Wettengel were All-League performers in 2019, while Zoe Dyer has 51 goals in her first two seasons. Meanwhile, sophomore Kelsey Winters was named the VaSID All-State Rookie of the Year in 2020 and ranked fourth in the nation with 23 assists.
5) SOUTHERN VIRGINIA ended the shortened season in 2020 with an overall 6-0 record, which ties a program record for the longest winning streak while outscoring their opponents 115-35. The Southern Virginia offense shined, finishing fifth in the nation for scoring offense averaging 19.17 goals per game while finishing sixth in the nation in total goals scored with 115.