Westfield, Mass.— Reigning Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season champions Framingham State has been selected by the eight coaches around the conference to win the 2020 MASCAC Women's Lacrosse Championship. 

The Rams earned five first place votes for 47 points in this year's poll. They closed out the league slate last season a perfect 7-0. Returning is All-Conference attack Grace Gamache who finished with 43 goals and 53 assists for 96 points. Her assist and point numbers led the league while she also collected 34 ground balls, 29 draw controls and caused 11 turnovers. 

Sitting in second place is Bridgewater State with two first place votes for 40 points. The Bears were 6-1 in MASCAC play last season. Reigning MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year attack Victoria McDonough netted 52 goals and 43 assists for 95 points, all top three in the conference. She also added 92 draw controls, 33 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers.
 

Grabbing the final first place vote with 39 total points in third is Westfield State. The Owls had a 5-2 record during the conference regular season in 2019. The reigning MASCAC Tournament champions bring back midfielder Sam Donohoe who had 21 points on 17 goals and four assists while also finishing the season with 21 ground balls, 30 draw controls and eight caused turnovers. 

Worcester State is next in fourth with 31 points. The Lancers finished with a 4-3 mark last season in league action. Lauren Arbec, the first MASCAC Defensive Player of the Year, returns for the squad. In 2019, she registered the second-most caused turnovers in the league with 30 and collected 59 ground balls, the fourth-most in the conference and second-most in school history. The Lancers' defense caused 177 turnovers and a 8.81 goals against average.  

Next in fifth and sixth are Massachusetts Maritime and Fitchburg State with 25 points and 19 points, respectively. The Buccaneers had three wins in MASCAC play in 2019. Casey Sullivan led the team last season in goals with 52 while also netting 23 assists for 75 points, all in the top four of the league. She had the ninth-most ground balls with 51 and added 28 draw controls and 22 caused turnovers. For the Falcons, All-Conference honoree Tracy Long returns after scoring 34 goals plus 11 assists for 45 points. She also had 18 ground balls, 12 draw controls and three caused turnovers.

Rounding out the 2020 poll in seventh and eighth are Salem State and MCLA with 16 and seven points, respectively. The Vikings finished with two MASCAC wins last season. Tara McLaughlin tallied 39 points on 23 goals and 16 assists during the 2019 campaign with 19 ground balls, nine caused turnovers and two draw controls. For the Trailblazers, All-Conference midfielder Kim Granito returns after scoring 42 goals with four assists for 46 points along with 54 ground balls, 58 draw controls and 19 caused turnovers.

Framingham State and Westfield State jump-start the women's lacrosse season on Saturday with the first contests of the year while the majority of the MASCAC begins play next week. 

 

2020 MASCAC Women's Lacrosse Pre-Season Coaches Poll
(First Place Votes In Parentheses)

1.	Framingham State	(5)	47 points
2.	Bridgewater State	(2)	40 points
3.	Westfield State	(1)	39 points
4.	Worcester State		31 points
5.	Mass. Maritime		25 points
6.	Fitchburg State		19 points
7.	Salem State		16 points
8.	MCLA		7 points