SAINT LEO, Fla. – Third year head coach Caitlin Hansen and the Saint Leo women's lacrosse team are prepared to open the 2020 season on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. at University Turf Stadium. Saint Leo will host fellow Sunshine State Conference school, Rollins, as a non-conference competition. The Green and Gold are slated to host eight games at University Turf Stadium while traveling for nine games; eight away and one neutral site meeting.
 
Saint Leo has appeared on two national preseason polls. The Lions were ranked No. 17 by the US Lacrosse Magazine and No. 23 by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA). Saint Leo is joined on the prestigious national lists by #7/#8 Rollins, #6/#6 Tampa, #8/#9 Florida Southern and non-conference scheduled opponents, #11 East Stroudsburg and #13 Limestone.
 
As the highly competitive Sunshine State Conference released its' preseason poll, the conference coaches predicted the Lions to wrap up the season in the top half of the league at the fourth seed.
 
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 seniors Janee DeLuca at attack, Salvett at defense, Chrisco at midfield, and starting goalkeeper Davis, among 17 returners, 11 true freshmen, and four transfers.
 
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.