LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — After being selected No. 9 in the USA Lacrosse Division II Women's Preseason Top 20 ealier in the week, the East Stroudsburg University women's lacrosse team was picked to finish third in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Preseason Coaches' Poll, the conference announced Thursday afternoon.

ESU was one of three teams to receive first-place votes.

West Chester, the top vote-getter, was selected to win the PSAC East, earning five first-place votes. Kutztown (2nd) and ESU (3rd) both received first-place votes. Bloomsburg (4th) and Millersville (5th) rounded out the top five in the PSAC East, with Shepherd (6th) and Shippensburg (7th) finishing at the bottom of the poll.

In the PSAC West, Seton Hill received four first-place votes and was picked to win the division. Slippery Rock followed with two first-place votes, while Lock Haven was selected third. IUP (4th), Gannon (5th), and Edinboro (6th) completed the division rankings.

ESU finished the 2024 season at No. 7 in the ILWomen/IWLCA Coaches Poll, marking its fourth-best finish in program history, behind only 2022 (No. 2), 2021 (No. 4), and 2018 (No. 5).

It was the Warriors' seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. Since 2017, the program has won two PSAC championships (2017, 2022), four NCAA Atlantic Region championships (2018, 2021, 2022, 2024) and made a NCAA National Championship appearance in 2022.

The Warriors will open the season at home at Whitenight Field against Jefferson on Feb. 22, before traveling to Lock Haven on March 1. ESU will then return to host Slippery Rock on March 5.

In total, ESU will host eight home regular-season games at Whitenight Field.

Their first PSAC East home game will be against Bloomsburg on March 26. After a trip to Shippensburg on March 29, ESU will have a three-game homestand against No. 5 West Chester (April 2), Shepherd (April 5), and No. 12 Kutztown (April 12).

For the full schedule, visit: esuwarriors.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/schedule.
 
EASTERN DIVISION (# of first place votes)
1. West Chester (5)
2. Kutztown (1)
3. East Stroudsburg (1)
4. Bloomsburg
5. Millersville
6. Shepherd
7. Shippensburg
 
WESTERN DIVISION (# of first place votes)
1. Seton Hill (4)
2. Slippery Rock (2)
3. Lock Haven
4. IUP
5. Gannon
6. Edinboro