MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference released its women's lacrosse preseason coaches' poll, where the leagues' eight head coaches selected Florida Southern College and Rollins College to tie atop the preseason rankings, when the poll was released Thursday by the conference office. Both the Moccasins and Tars pulled 45 points, but Florida Southern edged Rollins 4-3 in first-place votes, Tampa receiving the last one.
After posting a 9-1 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the SSC in 2021, the Mocs are expected to repeat as the regular-season champions for the program's seventh-straight title in seven years of SSC women's lacrosse. FSC returns 23 to the roster from the 2021 squad, including three First Team All-SSC selections in 2021 in
Patricia Werker,
Lizzy Lynch, and
Hailey Daleo, who also went on to earn All-South Region honors by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA). Prior to the 2022 season, senior
Hailey Daleo was named a First Team Preseason All-American by
USA Lacrosse Magazine.
The University of Tampa fell in third place in the voting with 39 total points and one first-place vote. Following in fourth was Saint Leo University with 29 points, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in fifth with 26, Florida Tech and Palm Beach Atlantic tied for sixth at 14 while Lynn closed the eight-team poll with 12 points.
The 2022 schedule is a full slate after an abbreviated 2021 where three squads posted a 5-1 (.833) record in league play, FSC, Rollins, and Tampa to earn a share of the regular-season title. The same three programs tied in 2019, the last full season, before the CoVID-19 shortened 2020 season with no regular-season champion crowned.
Tampa stands as the defending SSC tournament champion, winning the last conference postseason tournament, which took place in 2019. That season was also the most recent where SSC teams saw NCAA postseason action. FSC, Rollins, and Tampa all earned bids to the 2019 NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Tournament, where Tampa fell to Queens University, and Rollins defeated FSC in the first round. The Tars season came to an end in the national semifinals following an overtime loss to Queens.
"We are excited to get back into the swing of hopefully a normal spring season," said head women's lacrosse coach
Kara Reber. "Our players are anxious to play more games this year and have the opportunity put their hard work into action. I'm looking forward to the SSC having a great year all around."
Florida Southern opens the 2022 season on Feb. 8 at 7:00 p.m. against Saint Leo University at the newly renamed
Berend Field in the Barnett Athletic Complex.
Below are the full results of the 2022 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches may not vote for their teams (points: 7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
| 2022 SSC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll |
| Rank |
School (FPV) |
Total Points |
| T1 |
Florida Southern (4) |
45 |
| T1 |
Rollins (3) |
45 |
| 3 |
Tampa (1) |
39 |
| 4 |
Saint Leo |
29 |
| 5 |
Embry-Riddle |
26 |
| T6 |
Florida Tech |
14 |
| T6 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
14 |
| 8 |
Lynn |
12 |
SSC Women's Lacrosse History:
National Champions |
Conference Champions | All-SSC Teams | All-Americans | Record Book
| Previous SSC Women's Lacrosse Polls |
| Year |
Predicted Winner
(Actual Finish) |
Regular Season Champ
(Preseason Prediction) |
Tournament Champ
(Preseason Prediction) |
| 2021 |
Florida Southern (1st) |
FSC (1st) / Tampa (2nd) / Rollins (3rd) |
Not Awarded Due to COVID-19 |
| 2020 |
Tampa (N/A) |
Not Awarded Due to COVID-19 |
Not Awarded Due to COVID-19 |
| 2019 |
Florida Southern (T1st) |
FSC (1st) / Rollins (2nd) / Tampa (3rd) |
Tampa (3rd) |
| 2018 |
Florida Southern (1st) |
Florida Southern (1st) |
Florida Southern (1st) |
| 2017 |
Florida Southern (1st) |
Florida Southern (1st) |
Florida Southern (1st) |
| 2016 |
Rollins (2nd) |
Florida Southern (2nd) |
Florida Southern (2nd) |
| 2015 |
Florida Southern (1st) |
Florida Southern (1st) |
Rollins (2nd) |
