SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo women's lacrosse team cracked into the top half of the 2020 Sunshine State Conference Preseason Poll released on Tuesday. The Lions are predicted to finish fourth of eight SSC programs. The fourth place finish would allow the Green and Gold to advance to the conference postseason, seen only once before in 2015.
 
Under the direction of third year head coach, Caitlin Hansen, Saint Leo drew 31 points. The Lions followed top-picked Tampa with 48 points and six first place votes, Rollins with 41 points and one first place vote just edging Florida Southern in the third slot with 40 points, who also picked up a first place vote. The Green and Gold were slated above Embry-Riddle, Florida Tech, Lynn, and Palm Beach Atlantic with 25, 16, 14, and nine points, respectively.
 
Last year, Saint Leo (13-4, 2-4 SSC) lost the fourth place tiebreaker with Florida Tech (7-9, 2-4 SSC), concluding an outstanding season just shy of postseason play. During the 2019 season, the Lions set the program's season best start at 13-0 while impacting the career, season, and single game record book pages. Awards and honors followed as the team received its first-ever All-SSC First Team selections in the form of attacker Leslie Ferguson and defender Ashley Salvett. Delaney Chrisco and Erin Davis joined their teammates as second team selections for a total of four All-SSC honors. Salvett continued to reel in the program's first elite honors. The Syracuse, N.Y. product was named Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-South Region in May.
 
Hansen returns Salvett, Chrisco, and Davis along with 14 other veterans, 11 freshmen and four transfers. The promising roster grabbed the attention of the US Lacrosse Magazine Nike/US Division II Preseason Poll as Saint Leo will open the season ranked No. 17. The Sunshine State Conference had three other programs represented in the Top-20 list; No. 6 Tampa, No. 8 Rollins, and No. 9 Florida Southern.
 
No. 17 Saint Leo will open the season against No. 8 Rollins on Saturday, February 8 at University Turf Stadium starting at 1 p.m. The two SSC teams will compete in the season opener as a non-conference competition. The highly polled teams will meet again on Friday, March 27 for a conference contest. Right after No. 17 Saint Leo takes on No. 8 Rollins, the Lions will host No. 6 and SSC favorite, Tampa on Wednesday, April 1 at 7 p.m.
 
For more information on the Saint Leo women's lacrosse program, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.