FOREST, Va. --- Washington and Lee University has won each of the past 11 ODAC women's lacrosse championships and 17-of-18 honored since 2003. Armed with a roster that features nine returning starters -- each of whom earned All-ODAC distinction -- it is clear why the Generals were tabbed atop the ODAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll as favorites to hoist yet another trophy in May.

The Generals earned 81 total points powered by nine first place votes from the league's head coaches. Roanoke College, runner-up last season following their first appearance in a title game since 2012, picked up the remaining top nod to rank second with 69 markers. Shenandoah University is close at the Maroons heels with 65 tallies to round out the top-three.

In the following sections, we take a quick look back at last season and get a feel for what to expect for the upcoming women's lacrosse campaign.

2021 ODAC TOURNAMENT | BRACKET

• Washington and Lee and Roanoke squared off in the ODAC title match
• Top-seeded Washington and Lee received a bye through the quarterfinals; in the semifinals, the Generals defeated #4 Lynchburg 18-8 to punch their ticket to the championship game
• Second-seeded Roanoke also received a bye through quarterfinals; in the semifinals, Roanoke posted a 23-16 win over #3 Shenandoah
• The first half of the title match was a back-and-forth affair; after Roanoke went ahead first, W&L responded with three goals only to have Lilly Blair score twice for the Maroons to tie the game at 3-all after 10 minutes of play; Katherine Faria scored her third and fourth goals of the half as part of a second three-goal run by the Generals, but Roanoke closed the first 30 minutes with two more tallies to leave W&L up just one at 6-5
• W&L put its foot on the gas pedal in the second half, opening with six unanswered goals over the first 10 minutes to build a 12-5 advantage; Roanoke found its feet, but not enough to unsettled the Generals as another four-goal run led W&L to a 17-9 triumph
• The victory marked Washington and Lee's 11th straight and 21st overall ODAC women's lacrosse title
• The title game appearance was Roanoke's first since back-to-back berths in 2011 and 2012

2021 NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT

• Naitonally second-ranked Washington and Lee was the ODAC's lone representative in the NCAA's field of 37 teams for the national tournament
• The Generals earned a bye through the first round and were selected to host a second round game against FDU-Florham; W&L earned an easy 19-5 victory
• W&L was again selection to host, this time as the venue for a four-team regional; the Generals drew Ithaca as their opponent, and fell to the Bombers, 16-11, to close their season

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING NATIONALLY ENTERING 2022

• ILWomen/IWLCA Division III Preseason Poll: Washington and Lee represents the ODAC in the opening top-25 poll published by the IWLCA and new partner ILWomen; the Generals are slotted fifth behind reigning national champion Salisbury University as the chart-topper followed by Tufts University, St. John Fisher College, and Ithaca, sequentially
• Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Women's Preseason Top-20: the Generals are slotted eighth among the 20 teams ranked by USA Lacrosse Magazine and partners Nike; Roanoke is one of six squads to have earned consideration towards the top-20; defending champs Salisbury tops this survey as well
• USA Lacrosse Magazine Division III Women's Preseason All-Americans: Washington and Lee attack Allie Schwab is the long ODAC student-athlete to earn preseason All-America distinction from USA Lacrosse Magazine; she leads those returning to ODAC rosters in points (69) and assists (34) from last season

RETURNING STATISTICAL LEADERS
The athletes listed below represent the top-three returning statistical leaders for each category from the 2021 spring season.
Save Pct./GAA Minimums | 33% of team goalkeeper minutes played

• Points | 69 - Allie Schwab (W&L); 67 - Emma Stiffler (SU); 60 - Lilly Blair (RC)
• Goals | 50 - Lilly Blair (RC); 46 - Hanna Bishop (W&L)/Emerson Foster (RC)/Emma Stiffler (SU)
• Assists | 34 - Allie Schwab (W&L); 23 - Micaela Harvey (FC); 21 - Emma Stiffler (SU)
• Draw Controls | 80 - Emerson Foster (RC); 62 - Sophia Cirone (RAND); 58 - McKenzie Hynson (RMC)
• Ground Balls | 55 - Erin Reynolds (FC); 35 - Harley Steger (FC); 32 - Natalie Dunn (VWU)
• Caused Turnovers | 39 - Erin Reynolds (FC); 26 - Sophia Cirone (RAND); 18 - Willow Cooper (FC)
• GK Minutes Played | 675:46 - Julia Broughton (LYN); 660:10 - Caroline Kranich (W&L); 623:19 - Ashley MacFarlane (SU)
• GK Saves | 98 - Caraline Cypher (RMC); 91 - Ashley MacFarlane (SU); 73 - Julia Broughton (LYN)
• Save Pct. | .425 - Caroline Kranich (W&L); .424 - Caraline Cypher (RMC); .414 - Ashley MacFarlane (SU)
• Goals Against Avg. | 6.27 - Caronline Kranich (W&L); 11.93 - Harley Steger (FC); 12.42 - Ashley MacFarlane (SU)

RETURNING ALL-ODAC TALENT | 2021 ALL-ODAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE AWARDS
The 2022 season features 27-of-39 All-ODAC honorees from the 2021 spring campaign. Gone are both the offensive (Landon Shelley) and defensive (Catherine Arrix) players of the year from Washington and Lee's roster, but five-time reigning ODAC Coach of the Year Brooke O'Brien welcomes back ODAC Rookie of the Year Hanna Bishop to the Generals' attack.

   ATTACK

• Hanna Bishop (W&L) -- All-ODAC Third Team (ODAC Rookie of the Year)
• Reilly Cisar (SU) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Katherine Faria (W&L) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Jenna Kuczo (RC) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Emma Schwab (W&L) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Emma Stiffler (SU) -- All-ODAC First Team

   MIDFIELDERS

• Lilly Blair (RC) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Christina Cavallo (W&L) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Leah Dumas (LYN) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Emerson Foster (RC) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Lily Henderson (RMC) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• McKenzie Hynson (RMC) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Jenny Lisovicz (W&L) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Erin Reynolds (FC) -- All-ODAC Third Team

   DEFENSE

• Italia Carnazza (RMC) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Claire Eisenhart (RC) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Allie Doyle (W&L) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Caroline Hall (W&L) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Madison Knight (LYN) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Emily Lerch (SU) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Natalie Mason (RC) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Madison Re (SU) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Caelinn Satterfield (LYN) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Micah Slacum (LYN) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Sam Van Belle (W&L) -- All-ODAC Second Team

   GOALKEEPERS

• Caraline Cypher (RMC) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Caroline Kranich (W&L) -- All-ODAC First Team

ODAC HEAD COACHES
Some of the best coaches in the business lead ODAC teams in all sports. Below we take a look at the career records and tenures for the league's men's lacrosse coaches entering the 2022 campaign.

• Ashley Hughes (BC) -- Overall: 72-88 (.450)/11 | at BC: First Season
• Karen Harvey (FC) -- Overall: 114-102-1 (.528)/15 | at FC: 114-102-1 (.528)/15
• Lottie Meadows (GC) -- Overall: 6-5 (.545)/2 | at GC: 3-4 (.429)/1
• Bruce Reid (LYN) -- Overall: 169-123 (.579)/19 | at LYN: 169-123 (.579)/19
  • 1x ODAC COY (2010)
• Bernadette Connor (RAND) -- Overall: 3-9 (.250)/1 | at RAND: 3-9 (.250)/1
• MK Geratowski (RMC) -- Overall: 79-49 (.617)/8 | at RMC: 79-49 (.617)/8
• Zach Tamburello (RC) -- Overall: First Season | at RC: First Season
• Lindsey Lutz (SU) -- Overall: 120-90 (.571)/13 | at SU: 120-90 (.571)/13
• Nicole DeSalvia (VWU) -- Overall: 13-23 (.361)/3 | at VWU: 3-18 (.143)/2
• Brooke O'Brien (W&L) -- Overall: 202-56 (.783)/14 | at W&L: 202-56 (.783)/14
  • 8x ODAC COY (2008, 11, 13, 16-19, 21)

THE SCHEDULE AND TOURNAMENT

• ODAC teams are slated to play an 8-game unbalanced league schedule; the maximum number of games a team can play overall is 18
• The first regular season games are set for the weekend of February 11-13
• Bridgewater and Guilford will play in the first ODAC game on Saturday, March 12
• The 2022 ODAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament features seven teams and will be competed over four rounds
  • First Round: Monday, May 2 at #6 Seed
  • Quarterfinals: Wednesday, May 4 at #3-4 Seeds
  • Semifinals: Saturday, May 7 at #1 Seed
  • Championship: Sunday, May 8 at #1 Seed
• The selections for the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament will be announced on Monday, May 9.

Listed below is the 2022 ODAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll. For more information on ODAC women's lacrosse, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

2022 ODAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE COACHES POLL