Monmouth Women’s Lacrosse Voted Preseason Favorite, Nicole Ceraso Named Preseason Player of the Year
EDISON, N.J. (Mar. 3, 2021) - The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced Wednesday that Monmouth University has been selected as the 2021 MAAC women’s lacrosse preseason favorites, as voted on by the league’s nine head coaches. Monmouth fifth year attack Nicole Ceraso was selected as the 2021 Preseason Player of the Year.
The Hawks tallied 76 points to top the poll, along with receiving five of the nine first-place votes. Monmouth also leads the way with five selections to the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
Monmouth possessed a powerful offense in 2019, averaging 13.83 goals and 19.06 points per game to help them earn the No. 2 seed for the 2019 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship. They would advance to semifinals before falling to third-seeded Siena College.
Fairfield University, the defending MAAC champions, ranks second in the preseason poll with 69 points and two first-place votes. Siena College, who advanced to the 2019 conference championship game, follows closely behind in third place with 68 points and a first place vote.
Marist College rounds out the top four with 57 points and one first-place vote. Samantha Mehalick, the only unanimous pick to the 2020 Preseason All-MAAC Team, is once again a unanimous selection for 2021.
Monmouth’s Nicole Ceraso, the 2019 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, led the conference with 2.5 assists per game and ranked second with 4.67 points per game. In addition to Preseason Player of the Year, Ceraso joins Marist’s Mehalick as a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
The 2021 MAAC women’s lacrosse season will culminate with the 2021 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship, scheduled to take place May 6-9. To stay up-to-date with MAAC Women’s Lacrosse, follow @MAACSports on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and join the conversation using #MAACLAX.
See below for the full poll and list of preseason honors:
| Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| 1 |
Monmouth (5) |
76 |
| 2 |
Fairfield (2) |
69 |
| 3 |
Siena (1) |
68 |
| 4 |
Marist (1) |
57 |
| 5 |
Niagara |
33 |
| 6 |
Manhattan |
29 |
| 7 |
Canisius |
28 |
| 8 |
Quinnipiac |
27 |
| 9 |
Iona |
18 |
| Preseason Player of the Year |
| Nicole Ceraso - Monmouth |
| Preseason All-MAAC Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Caroline Bleck |
Attack |
5th |
Monmouth |
| Nicole Ceraso* |
Attack |
5th |
Monmouth |
| Nicole McNeely |
Attack |
Sr. |
Siena |
| Samantha Mehalick* |
Attack |
Gr. |
Marist |
| Allison Turturro |
Attack |
5th |
Monmouth |
| Annie Brennan |
Midfield |
5th |
Siena |
| Kerry Gerety |
Midfield |
Sr. |
Siena |
| Kelly Horning |
Midfield |
Sr. |
Fairfield |
| Rachel Mills |
Midfield |
5th |
Monmouth |
| Riley Lucarelli |
Defense |
Sr. |
Canisius |
| Lauren Paul |
Defense |
Gr. |
Niagara |
| Maggie Reynolds |
Defense |
Sr. |
Fairfield |
| Gina Verrone |
Defense |
Jr. |
Monmouth |
| Romy Villemure |
Defense |
Sr. |
Marist |
| Michelle Messenger |
Goalkeeper |
Jr. |
Niagara |
* Denotes Unanimous Selection
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.