The Hofstra Women's Lacrosse team was picked #20 in this season's first Bounce Entertainment/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, released on Monday.

Hofstra returns seven starters among 17 returning letterwinners from a squad that posted a 14-4 overall record last season and a 6-1 CAA mark.  The Pride were the regular season CAA champions for the first time in school history and the 14 wins were the most since the 2001 team set a school-record with 16 victories.  Tops among returnees include senior midfielder Becky Thorn (Holbrook, NY) who led the team with 39 goals and 44 points last season.  Junior attack Kim Hiller (Massapequa, NY) returns as well after posting a team-high 14 assists and ranking second on the team with 43 points.  Rounding out the Pride's top returning offensive threats is junior midfielder Casey McGrath (Kings Park, NY), who chipped in with 29 goals and 10 assists in 2005.   On the defensive side of the ball, senior defender Jaime Irving (Cortlandt Manor, NY) will anchor the defensive unit, while sophomore goalie Maisie Osteen (Charlottesville, VA) controls the cage.  Irving picked up 39 ground balls and caused 32 turnovers last season, tops among returnees, while Osteen had nine wins and a 7.43 goals against average in nearly 655 minutes of action a season ago.

The trio of Thorn, Hillier and McGrath, Hofstra's top three scorers in 2005, accounted for almost 46% of the Pride's offense last year.

Of Hofstra's 16 regular season games this season, 10 will come against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the Bounce Entertainment/Inside Lacrosse Media poll for February 6.  The highlight of that slate is the season opener at home against the defending National Champions Northwestern University.  The Pride will take on the Wildcats, picked #1 in the poll, at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, February 24, 2006 at James M. Shuart Stadium.

Inside Lacrosse is proud to announce its partnership with Bounce Entertainment to bring fans the 2006 DI women's lacrosse media poll, the first and only media poll for DI women's lacrosse. The Bounce Entertainment/Inside Lacrosse pre-season media poll debuted on Monday, February 6.

The Bounce Entertainment/Inside Lacrosse media poll comes out every Monday during the season and is comprised of pollsters from various media outlets throughout the country. Bounce Entertainment, the sponsor of the poll, is a conglomerate made up of entities geared toward expanding women's lacrosse and having a direct impact on the lives of girls playing lacrosse. Bounce Entertainment was started by U.S. Women's team member Crista Samaras.

Bounce Entertainment/Inside Lacrosse Women's Media Poll
1. Northwestern- 318 Points (14 first place votes)
2. Duke- 300 (2 first place votes)
3. Princeton- 270
4. Maryland- 250
5. North Carolina- 241
6. Dartmouth- 234
7. Virginia- 218
8. Boston University- 213
9. Johns Hopkins- 204
10. Penn State- 200
11. Georgetown- 166
12. Loyola- 148
13. Syracuse- 123
14. Vanderbilt- 111
15. Towson- 97
16. Cornell- 88
17. Stanford- 57
18. Richmond- 38
19. Pennsylvania- 25
20. Hofstra- 18

Others receiving votes: Temple 14, Delaware 6, Notre Dame 6, Rutgers 5, Yale 4, Colgate 2, William and Mary 2, James Madison 1, George Washington 1

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