FEBRUARY 19, 2025 | composed by STEVE ULRICH

Welcome to D3 Lacrosse, devoted to NCAA Division III men’s and women’s lacrosse

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Headlines
🥍 What’s New in Women’s Lacrosse
🔔 Stuart Announces Retirement at Colorado College
🗓️ Scores / Schedules
📊 Preseason Polls
⚡️ Lightning Round

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TOP STORY
1. What’s New in Women’s Lax

by Steve Dittmore, D3 Lacrosse

“With five new and five discontinued programs for 2025, sponsorship of women’s lacrosse at the NCAA Division III level will remain flat with 282 institutions fielding varsity women’s lacrosse teams in 2024-25, down from 292 in the 2019-20 academic year.

New Programs

Alfred State (NY) College - Coached by Caroline Kuhn, the Pioneers begin varsity competition in 2025. Alfred State competes in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference for its sports, but will be an independent in 2025 along with AMCC colleagues Pitt-Bradford (club), Hilbert, LaRoche, and Mt. Aloysius.

Elmira College (NY) - Like Alfred State, Elmira is sponsoring women’s lacrosse for a second time. The Soaring Eagles dropped the program after the 2021 season in which the team posted a 5-4 record in an abbreviated season. Cassidy Prather will serve as the new women’s head coach for the 2025 season.

Geneva College (PA) - The Golden Tornadoes become the 11th Presidents Athletic Conference school to sponsor women’s lacrosse when it begins play this season. Liz Geyer will serve as the head coach.

Lawrence University (WI) - Lawrence will field a new program in 2025 under coach Ben Morhac. The Vikings will play their inaugural season as an affiliate member of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.

Pacific Lutheran (WA) - Luteville adds women’s lacrosse for the 2025 season with Melanie Rizzotti named as head coach. Pacific Lutheran becomes the ninth school in the Northwest Conference to sponsor women’s lacrosse.

University of Pitt-Bradford (PA) - Coached by Vic Goeller, the Panthers are a new program. The team will compete as a club sport in 2025, before transitioning to varsity status in 2026. Its sports programs also compete in the AMCC, along with colleagues Alfred State, Hilbert, LaRoche, and Mt. Aloysius. Because Pitt-Bradford will compete as a club team in 2025, it is not counted in the overall 282 number.

Discontinued Programs

• Birmingham-Southern College closed at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.

• Cabrini University closed at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.

• Keystone College does not appear to sponsor a team in the 2025 season.

• University of Northwestern-St. Paul discontinued the program after the 2024 season.

• Wells College closed at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.

One more NCAA tournament spot

The 2025 NCAA Division III women’s lacrosse tournament will increase from 46 to 47 teams. In 2025, there will be 31 conference championship AQs with 1 Pool B spot available and 15 Pool C at-large bids. The number of NCAA tournament first round games will increase to six in 2025.

RECAP (W)
2. Stuart Announces Retirement at CC

“Colorado College women's lacrosse head coach Susan "Stuey" Stuart announced she will retire at the end of the 2025 season. The only coach in the program's illustrious history enters her final year with 312 wins, the 12th most in DIII history.

"The past 30 years have been nothing short of amazing," Stuart said. "I ended up in the absolute perfect place for me."

Colorado College enters its 31st season with 312 wins, 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, 18 All-Americans and a staple name in NCAA women's lacrosse. In its prosperous history, there has only been one head coach.”

» Field Awareness. “Originally from Great Falls, Mont., Stuart played collegiate lacrosse at William Smith before graduating in 1989. She was inducted into the William Smith Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 as one of the top goalies in the program's history. Stuart compiled a 26-6 record as a starter for the Herons. She finished her career with 421 saves, a .629 save percentage and a 7.29 goals-against average.”

» What They’re Saying. “Stuey has been the heart and soul of our women's lacrosse program for 30 seasons, guiding our student-athletes to unparalleled success," CC's Vice President and Director of Athletics Lesley Irvine said. "Stuey's legacy will forever be a part of Colorado College, and we look forward to celebrating her remarkable career throughout the 2025 season and beyond. Simply put, she is truly a legend in the sport of women's lacrosse."

» WhyD3. “The student-athletes I have had the privilege to coach are all incredibly bright, creative, welcoming, and very hard-working," Stuart said. "My heart is overflowing, and I can't express enough gratitude for all the joy I have had from coaching these amazing women over the years."

» Keep Reading

AROUND THE NATION
3. Scores / Schedules

Luke Kammerman scored three times with five assists, while Wyatt Whitlow and Luca Docking each tallied five goals as Roanoke soundly defeated Southern Virginia, 28-6. Robbie Wiley scored five goals, including the game-winner in the second overtime period, to lift Hood past Shenandoah, 8-7. Logan Sinsebox had a hat trick as Randolph-Macon went on the road and defeated McDaniel, 10-5.

Sophie Edwards scored four times as Washington and Lee blanked Guilford, 25-0. Natalia Oritz found the back of the net five times as Marymount blitzed Wilson, 21-1. Shyanne Nucifora had seven points (3-4) as Stockton downed Neumann, 17-10. Sydney Weber scored seven goals as Warren Wilson held off Pfeiffer, 12-11. Jenna Entsminger tallied six times to lead Bridgewater past Hood, 12-6.

CONFERENCES
4. Preseason Polls

It’s conference preseason poll time. That time where some coaches put some thought into making their annual selections, while others opt to list teams in their 2024 order of standing. Nonetheless, for the final time in 2025, we share with our readers.

• Little East (W). Plymouth State is the preseason choice to capture the title with Eastern Connecticut coming in second.

• New Jersey (W). TCNJ is picked to repeat in the NJAC, garnering four of the possible six first-place votes. Rowan came in second in the poll.

• North Atlantic (M). SUNY Delhi is the early favorite in the NAC, receiving five of a possible six first-place votes. Maine Maritime received the other top vote.

NEWS YOU CAN USE
5. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

🏆️ Players of the Week. Franklin & Marshall senior Lydia Cassilly and Messiah’s Katie Bukiewicz were honored as the IWLCA DIII Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.

📊 Polls. The NESCAC has a stranglehold on the top spots in the latest DIII polls. Tufts holds down the No. 1 position in the USA Lacrosse and USILA rankings, while Middlebury is the top team in the USA Lax and IWLCA listings.

FUTURE STARS
6. Commitments

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT (M) - Mt. St. Joseph ‘26 M Jake Minderlein. Riverside ‘26 LSM Sebastian Quintana
DICKINSON (M) - Bullis School ‘26 GK Jake Zamoiski
SCRANTON (M) - Chaminade ‘26 D Liam Perrucci
STEVENSON (M) - Flint School ‘25 D Kariq Waters
URSINUS (M) - Poly Prep ‘25 D Evan Saunders

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