WALTHAM, Mass. – The defending NE10 women's lacrosse champions Bentley University were voted fourth in the conference's preseason Coaches' Poll that was released on Wednesday.

The Falcons received 112 points in the poll. Le Moyne is the preseason favorite having received 167 points and 11 first-place votes. They are followed by Adelphi in second with 157 points and three first-place votes and Pace in third with 140 points.

Bentley went 8-2 in NE10 play last season to finish first in the Northeast Division. The NE10 was split into divisions temporarily last season for scheduling purposes due to the pandemic.

That first-place finish was the catalyst to the team's run to its first ever NE10 championship and subsequent NCAA Tournament selection. Bentley defeated Assumption 10-9 in overtime in the quarterfinals and knocked off Saint Anselm 13-10 in the semifinals, before they defeated Adelphi 9-8 in the championship game.

They finished last season with a 12-3 record and were the only NE10 team to earn a selection to the NCAAs.

The 2022 edition of the Falcons will be captained by seniors Caroline Boudreau (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough), Christine Fish (Slingerlands, N.Y./Guilderland), Glenna Gies (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) and Kayli Keenan (Pelham, N.H./Bishop Guertin).

The season gets underway four weeks from Saturday when they take on Southern Connecticut State on Feb. 26.

2022 NE10 Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Poll
1) Le Moyne - 167 (11)
2) Adelphi - 157 (3)
3) Pace - 140
4) Bentley - 112
5) Saint Anselm - 111
6) Franklin Pierce - 109
6) New Haven - 109
8) Assumption - 107
9) Stonehill - 75
10) SNHU - 47
11) SCSU - 44
12) AIC - 41
13) Saint Rose - 28
14) Saint Michael's - 27