TCNJ ENTERS SEASON AS NJAC FAVORITE IN LACROSSE
Saturday, February 16, 2013
FEBRUARY 15, 2013
Ewing, NJ… College of New Jersey lacrosse team enters the upcoming season as the favorite to make it three straight New Jersey Athletic Conference titles as the Lions were tabbed first in the preseason poll voted on by the coaches.
TCNJ picked up four of the available six first-place votes, with Montclair State University getting one vote in second and Rowan University the other in third place.
The Lions are 18-1 all-time in NJAC play since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2009. They have also won three of the four championships and enter this season having won 12 straight conference games.
In addition to the conference poll, TCNJ is ranked in a pair of national polls. They are ranked third in Lacrosse Magazine's Division III preseason poll and sixth in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association poll.
The Lions return two key pieces to their line-up in senior attack Alex Spark (Harvey Cedars, NJ/Southern Regional) and junior midfielder/defender Lauren Pigott (Jobstown, NJ/Northern Burlington). Both players earned IWLCA All-American Second Team honors and were named All-NJAC First Team. Spark led the team with 76 goals and finished with 94 points. Pigott was named the 2012 NJAC Defensive Player of the Year and led the team with 92 draw controls. She also contributed offensively, finishing with a career-high 38 goals and 49 points.
TCNJ also has junior Kelsey Zinck (Burke, VA/James W. Robinson) back between the pipes. The goalie earned All-NJAC Honorable Mention a season ago, easily leading the conference in goals-against-average at 6.46. She collected 16 wins as a sophomore.
The Lions open the season on Saturday, March 2 hosting FDU-Florham in Lions’ Stadium at 1 p.m. Three days later the team kicks off conference play with a road game at Kean University.