WASHINGTON -- The winners of both the 2023 and 2024 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championships, the Richmond Spiders were chosen as the Preseason Favorites by the league's coaches, as released by the Preseason Poll Thursday. Additionally, 13 student-athletes were selected to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Team.
Richmond, picked first for the third season in a row with 118 points and eight first place votes, finished 2024 with a 13-6 record, winning back-to-back Atlantic 10 conference titles and a second straight NCAA tournament appearance. The Spiders finished the season at No. 25 in the IL Women/IWLCA poll. Richmond is led by three Preseason All-Conference Performers; Hannah Custer, Grace Muldoon and Colleen Quinn. Muldoon was also named a Preseason All-American by USA Lacrosse after being named the Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year, First-Team All-Atlantic 10, Atlantic 10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team, USA Lacrosse All-America Honorable Mention and IWLCA South Region First Team last season. Custer led the Richmond defense last season, totaling 35 ground balls, 21 caused turnover and 5 draw controls on the season. Quinn led the Spiders in scoring in 2024 with 49 goals, 23 assists and 72 points, shooting .454 on the season en route to being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team.
Massachusetts, who has won the Regular Season title in each of the past 12 seasons, was picked second for the third year in a row with 112 points and three first place votes. The Minutewomen went 13-5 last season including a 9-0 mark in Atlantic 10 play. In their final year in the Atlantic 10, UMass will be led by Inside Lacrosse Preseason First Team All-American Jordan Dean, who set the NCAA Division I single season record for draw controls last year, breaking the previous mark of 221 while finishing the season with 261. The junior was named to the Atlantic 10 First-Team All-Conference squad after finishing with double-digit draw controls in 15-of-18 games, including a career-high 20 against VCU to go along with four performances with 19. Also on the Preseason All-Conference team is attacker Kassidy Morris, who led UMass with 63 goals last season, shooting .516 to go with 16 assists, 13 groundballs, six caused turnovers and three draw controls.
Saint Joseph's earned 98 votes to result in a third place spot on the preseason poll. The Hawks are led by reigning Atlantic 10 Goalkeeper of the Year Jorden Concordia, who is a three-time A-10 All-Conference nod, becoming just the second Hawk in program history to eclipse 500 saves in her career in the 2024 campaign. Concordia holds three of the four highest save totals in single-season history for St. Joe's and sits at fourth all-time in program history in ground balls (138). Preseason All-Conference selection Maddie Yoder will lead the Hawks attack after scoring 45 goals with three assists, 18 groundballs, 56 draw controls and 12 caused turnovers last season. Saint Joseph's went 11-7 and 6-3 in the Atlantic 10 last year.
After reaching the Atlantic 10 Tournament in each of the previous four seasons, Davidson comes in at fourth in the Preseason Poll with 89 votes. The Wildcats are led by reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year Jenna Skibbe who was second on the team in scoring with 48 goals while ranking third among all NCAA Division I freshmen in total goals and goals per game. A native of Lake Mary, Fla., she captured five A-10 Rookie of the Week honors during the regular season, and recorded 11 multi-goal games including a pair of 6-goal performances. Preseason All-Conference selection Allie Hartnett was an IWLCA All-Region selection a year ago after starring as an all-around midfielder with 19 goals, 19 assists, 22 groundballs, 40 draw controls and 17 caused turnovers. Davidson had its best A-10 finish ever last season, finishing 7-2 with an 11-7 overall record.
VCU is predicted to finish fifth with 68 points after going 4-5 in A-10 play last year. Led by two All-Conference selections, Brit Colangelo and Brooke Piper, St. Bonaventure slots in at sixth with 64 points. George Mason (60) and George Washington (41) were picked seventh and eighth respectively in the A-10.
Duquesne, picked ninth with 35 points, has two Preseason All-Conference selections in midfielder Mackenzie Leszczynski and defender Hanna Pawela. La Salle slots in at 10th with 22 points and Rhode Island, playing their first season of women's lacrosse in 2025, earned 19 points.
The Atlantic 10 women's lacrosse season starts this weekend with Richmond, Saint Joseph's and Davidson all playing ranked squads in #19 Penn State, #18 Navy and #21 Clemson.
Richmond will serve as the host for the 2025 Atlantic 10 Women's Lacrosse Championship. The championship features a six-team bracket played at Robins Stadium in Richmond, Va. from May 1-4.
PRESEASON POLL
- Richmond - 118 (8)
- Massachusetts - 112 (3)
- Saint Joseph’s - 98
- Davidson - 89
- VCU - 68
- St. Bonaventure - 64
- George Mason - 60
- George Washington - 41
- Duquesne - 35
- La Salle - 22
- Rhode Island - 19
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
ATTACK
Jenna Skibbe, Davidson
Kassidy Morris, Massachusetts
Colleen Quinn, Richmond
Maddie Yoder, Saint Joseph’s
MIDFIELD
Allie Hartnett, Davidson
Mackenzie Leszczynski, Duquesne
Grace Muldoon, Richmond
Brooke Piper, St. Bonaventure
DEFENDER
Hanna Pawela, Duquesne
Jordan Dean, Massachusetts
Hannah Custer, Richmond
Brit Colangelo, St. Bonaventure
GOALIE
Jorden Concordia, Saint Joseph’s