PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Florida repeated as the American Athletic Conference’s preseason favorite, earning unanimous top billing in the 2020 Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll announced by the conference on Thursday.
Three Gators were additionally selected as preseason major award honorees, with junior Grace Haus named Preseason Attacker of the Year, junior Shannon Kavanagh tabbed Preseason Midfielder of the Year and senior Cara Trombetta repeating as Preseason Defender of the Year. Temple senior Maryn Lowell, a Second Team All-Conference honoree last year, was named the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
Receiving all five possible first place votes for 25 points, Florida will look to repeat as American Athletic Conference champions. The Gators earned the inaugural league crown in 2019 after posting a perfect 5-0 record in league play, closing the season with a 14-7 overall record and a No. 13 national ranking. Florida advanced to its ninth-consecutive NCAA Championship, reaching the second round before falling to North Carolina, 15-11.
After posting its best season in program history at 12-7 (4-1 American) and advancing to the conference championship game in 2019, Cincinnati totaled 19 points to finish second in the poll. Closely behind was Vanderbilt in third place with 18 points and Temple in fourth with 14 points. UConn (nine points) and ECU (five points) rounded out the rankings.
Kavanagh was a unanimous selection as Preseason Midfielder of the Year after a sophomore season that ended with IWLCA Second Team All-America honors. The junior finished last season with 69 goals and 26 assists for 95 points, good for third in The American and 16th nationally. Kavanagh proved dominant on the draw, collecting a conference-best 93 in 2019 (4.43 per game). As a sophomore, she was named The American’s Midfielder of the Year and to the all-conference First Team, and collected her 100th career goal and 100th career point.
Trombetta, a 2019 IWLCA Third Team All-American, is the unanimous Preseason Defender of the Year for the second straight season. Her junior campaign saw numerous accolades, including conference Defender of the Year and First Team All-Conference honors. Trombetta will look to build on her Florida record of 110 caused turnovers on her career after posting a league-best 40 last season.
Haus earns Preseason Attacker of the Year accolades after a breakout sophomore season. She was named First Team All-Conference after scoring 39 goals with 12 assists for 51 points. Haus was named to the 2019 All-Tournament Team en route to Florida’s championship run, netting a career-high five goals in the semifinal match against Vanderbilt.
Lowell is the first Temple player to earn a major award in the American Athletic Conference. In 16 games last season, she posted an 11.96 goals against average with 114 saves. Lowell recorded double-digit save totals four times in 2019, including 15 in an 11-6 win over Vanderbilt to lift the Owls to the No. 3 seed for the conference championship.
The second season of American Athletic Conference women’s lacrosse will begin Friday, Feb. 7, with conference play slated to start on Saturday, March 28. The top four teams in the regular season standings will compete in the 2020 American Athletic Conference Women’s Lacrosse Championship, to be held April 30 and May 2 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.
2020 American Athletic Conference
Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll
| Team (First Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Florida (5) |
25 |
| 2. Cincinnati (1) |
19 |
| 3. Vanderbilt |
18 |
| 4. Temple |
14 |
| 5. UConn |
9 |
| 6. ECU |
5 |
Preseason Attacker of the Year
Grace Haus, Jr., Florida
Preseason Defender of the Year
Cara Trombetta, Sr., Florida*
Preseason Midfielder of the Year
Shannon Kavanagh, Jr., Florida*
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Maryn Lowell, Sr., Temple
Preseason All-Conference Team
Monica Borzillo, Sr., A, Cincinnati
Morgan Dukes, Jr., D, Cincinnati*
Kylie Nause, So., M, Cincinnati
Sydney Watson, Jr., M, UConn*
Ally Stanton, Jr., A, ECU
Kaitlyn Dabkowski, Jr., D, Florida
Brianna Harris, R-Jr., M, Florida
Grace Haus, Jr., A, Florida*
Shannon Kavanagh, Jr., M, Florida*
Cara Trombetta, Sr., D, Florida*
Maddie Gebert, Sr., A, Temple*
Maryn Lowell, Sr., GK, Temple
Kara Nakrasius, Sr., D, Temple*
Bridget Whitaker, Jr., M, Temple*
Gabby Fornia, Jr., A, Vanderbilt*
Emily Mathewson, Sr., M, Vanderbilt*
*denotes unanimous selection