AMHEARST, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts women's lacrosse program has earned preseason accolades from USA Lacrosse Magazine, the publication announced this past week. 

The Minutewomen are No. 18 in the USA Lacrosse Preseason Top 20 after a 2023 season where they finished the season with a 16-3 record while making their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. UMass claimed its 12th consecutive Atlantic 10 regular season championship last season after posting a perfect 9-0 mark in regular season conference play. The Minutewomen posted the nation's seventh-best win percentage and was one of seven teams with three or fewer losses on the year.

In addition, two Minutewomen, Fiona McGowan and Audra Tosone were selected as USA Lacrosse Honorable Mention Preseason All-Americans.

The 2023 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, McGowan led Massachusetts in goals, assists, and points while ranking seventh nationally in assists per game with 2.53 and eighth in total assists with 48. McGowan ranked 10th nationally in points per game at 4.84 while her 92 points was 11th-best among Division I leaders. McGowan posted a career-best 10 points in a win over George Mason in the regular season finale, marking the first 10-point game by an A-10 player since February of 2021.

The 2023 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, Tosone caused 44 turnovers in 2023 to rank second-most in a single season in program history. The First Team all-conference selection ranked seventh nationally in caused turnovers per game at 2.39 and helped UMass to the 12th-most caused turnovers per game as a team. Tosone also led a UMass defense that posted the nation's sixth-best scoring defense at 8.39. The defender's 3.06 ground balls per game was 10th-most in the country for a team that ranks third in the category.

The 18th-ranked Minutewomen open their 2024 season on Friday, February 9 at No. 2 Boston College.