LOUDONVILLE, NY – Expectations remained on the lofty side for the Siena Women's Lacrosse program.
For a third consecutive season, the Saints was chosen to finish in second place in the annual MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll in a vote submitted by the league's head coaches it was announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
Fairfield, the five-time defending MAAC Champions, took the top spot by receiving 99 votes including nine first-place votes.
Siena received 87 votes with one first-place vote followed by Niagara in third place with 79 votes, Quinnipiac in fourth with 68 votes and Mount St. Mary's was next with 57 votes.
Niagara and Quinnipiac had reached the MAAC Semfinal round in 2023.
Rounding out the top 10 were Canisius (50), Iona (43), Manhattan (27), Marist (26) and Rider (14).
Additionally, Siena received recognition for two players onto the Preseason All-MAAC team with redshirt junior
Jordan Bentley and graduate student
Jenna Colabufo named to the squad.
Bentley earned MAAC Second Team honors last season after being named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on two occasions.
The Queensbury, NY native appeared in all 19 games and led the Saints in draw controls with 68, was second on the team in goals with 39 and ranked fourth on the team in points with 48.
Colabufo earned MAAC First Team honors at defense, starting all 19 games and led the Saints in caused turnovers with 14, was second in ground balls with 22 and was ranked fifth on the team in draw controls with 26.
One change at the top will be the coaching tree for the Saints.
While coach
Danielle Schwan-Tetreault will be entering her seventh overall season with the team, this will be her first season taking the reigns as the head coach.
The Saints finished 12-7 last season with a 6-2 finish inside MAAC play.
Playing as the No. 2 seed, Siena reached the MAAC Championship Game for the third time in the previous five seasons.
| 2024 Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| 1 |
Fairfield |
99 (9) |
| 2 |
Siena |
87 (1) |
| 3 |
Niagara |
79 |
| 4 |
Quinnipiac |
68 |
| 5 |
Mount St. Mary's |
57 |
| 6 |
Canisius |
50 |
| 7 |
Iona |
43 |
| 8 |
Manhattan |
27 |
| 9 |
Marist |
26 |
| 10 |
Rider |
14 |
| Preseason Player of the Year |
| Rachel Crane – Niagara |
| Preseason All-MAAC Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Libby Rowe |
Attack |
Gr. |
Fairfield |
| Elizabeth Talluto |
Attack |
Gr. |
Fairfield |
| Kerri Gutenberger |
Attack |
Gr. |
Marist |
| Lexi Braniecki |
Attack |
Sr. |
Niagara |
| Paige Stachura |
Midfield |
Gr. |
Canisius |
| Kira Varada |
Midfield |
Jr. |
Iona |
| Rachel Crane |
Midfield |
Gr. |
Niagara |
| Jordan Bentley |
Midfield |
R-Jr. |
Siena |
| Jill Galanti |
Defense |
Sr. |
Canisius |
| Lindsey Barnes |
Defense |
Gr. |
Fairfield |
| Andrea Liotta |
Defense |
Gr. |
Manhattan |
| Sydney Huhtala |
Defense |
So. |
Niagara |
| Jenna Colabufo |
Defense |
Gr. |
Siena |
| Jody Chu |
Goalkeeper |
So. |
Canisius |
With
Danielle Schwan-Tetreault on the Siena women's lacrosse coaching staff, here's how the Saints were projected to finish and where they actually finished as well as which players were selected onto the All-MAAC Preseason Team:
Season Preseason Ranking Finish All-MAAC Preseason selections
2024 2nd ? Bentley, Colabufo
2023 T-2
nd 2
nd/Runners-Up Soures (POY), Colabufo
2022 2
nd 2
nd/Semis Fiorillo, McNeely, Soures
2021 3
rd 2
nd/Runners-Up Brennan, Gerety, McNeely
2020 3
rd Canc. (Covid) Gerety, McNeely, Pitman, Brennan
2019 7
th 3
rd/Runners-Up No selections
2018 8
th 8
th/Missed playoffs No selections
