Women's lacrosse fourth in preseason coaches' poll

2/12/2026 5:30:00 PM

TRAFFORD, Pa.--The Westminster women's lacrosse program was picked fourth in this year's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released Thursday afternoon with the league's annual Players to Watch List. The preseason coaches' poll was voted on by the PAC's 10 head coaches.

Led by fourth-year head coach Bria Braddock, Westminster totaled 73 points in the poll.

Westminster entered last year's PAC Championship Tournament as the No. 4 seed, advancing with a quarterfinal win over Thiel before falling to eventual champion Grove City in the semifinal round. The Titans wrapped up their season with a 12-6 overall record and a conference record of 6-3.

Grove City earned eight first-place votes and 89 points to claim the poll's top spot while Washington & Jefferson finished second with the final pair of first-place votes and 76 points. Chatham, last year's championship tournament runner-up, was third with 74 points. Allegheny was fifth (56), Saint Vincent was sixth (45), Thiel was seventh (44), Bethany was eighth (39), Geneva was ninth (26) and Hiram was 10th (18).

Graduate student Felicia Young (Darlington, Pa., Blackhawk), seniors Isabella Cespedes (Merrick, N.Y., Sanford H. Calhoun) and Julia Ravazza (Twain Harte, Calif., Dublin) along with sophomore Allyssa Anstis (Coraopolis, Pa., Moon), were mentioned in this year's Players to Watch List.

Young, a midfielder, was named Honorable Mention All-PAC last season. She finished the 2025 season with 48 goals and two assists with four game-winning goals and three free position goals. She added 19 ground balls, 10 caused turnovers and 32 draw controls. Young scored a career-high five goals in a win against visiting Saint Vincent on March 26. She ranked in the top 10 in the PAC in goals per game average (2.67).

A defender, Cespedes is a two-time Second Team All-PAC selection. She led the team in caused turnovers with 36 and picked up 47 ground balls. Her 2.00 caused turnovers per game average ranked No. 6 in the PAC. Cespedes had six caused turnovers and six ground balls in a win over visiting Wilson on March 1.

Ravazza, an attacker, was named last year's PAC Offensive Player of the Year after finishing with 60 goals and 57 assists. She scored two game-winning goals and had four free position goals. Ravazza added 19 ground balls, six caused turnovers and 59 draw controls. In the PAC last season, she was first in assists per game (3.35), second in points per game (6.88) and third in goals per game (3.53). Ravazza scored a career-high seven goals in a win at Franciscan last April and recorded a career-high 10 assists in a win at Geneva last March. She was named the PAC Offensive Player of the Week twice in 2025.

A midfielder, Anstis started in 14 games and made 15 appearances during her first year with the program. She finished the 2025 season with 38 goals and six assists and added 15 ground balls, three caused turnovers and 35 draw controls. In last year's win at Geneva, Anstis recorded a career-high eight points on six goals and two assists. She ranked in the top 10 in the PAC in goals per game average (2.53).

PAC women's programs are scheduled to play a full nine-game round-robin conference schedule in 2026. The league's six-team championship tournament will open with the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, April 28, with the first and second seeds receiving byes. The PAC semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, April 30, and the Championship game will be played Saturday, May 2, with all games hosted by the higher seeds.

The winner of the PAC Championship Tournament will receive the league's automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. The field for this year's Division III Championship will be announced on Sunday, May 3, with first and second round games scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, May 9-10.

Westminster is scheduled to open its regular season against Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Opening draw from the UPMC Sports Complex is slated for 5:30 p.m.

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