Women's Lacrosse Opens Season Today

GLENSIDE, Pa.: Arcadia University Women's Lacrosse, behind second-year head coach Erin Livingston travels to nearby Neumann University for their season opener this afternoon. In the newly alinged Middle Atlantic Conference, Arcadia has their sights set on one of the four available spots for the Freedom Conference post-season tournament in May.

This is the first season the former MAC is split into the Commonwealth and Freedom Conferences. With the split of the two Conferences, comes a change in the Conference Tournament format. The teams will have separate Conference Tournaments that will allow for both the Commonwealth and Freedom Tournament winners to receive automatic berths into the NCAA Division III National Tournament, although the Freedom automatic qualifier will not kick in until 2013.

In their annual pre-season poll, the Freedom Conference coaches have selected the Knights to finish as one of the top four teams. FDU-Florham was tabbed to finish atop the division, followed by second-place Eastern, third-place Manhattanville while Arcadia was voted in the fourth slot. Three teams the Knights defeated a season ago, King's Misericordia and Wilkes, hold positions five through seven respectively and round out the newly formed seven-member league.

Arcadia is looking to build upon their 7-9 overall and 4-8 showing against MAC opponents in 2011. Although Coach Livingston lost six seniors to graduation, including All-Conference Honorable Mention players Kaitlin Gamber and Kelly Donahue, who joins the team this year as Livingston's assistant, 9 first years and 3 upperclass newcomers comprise this year's 20-person roster.

Freedom Conference plays begins March 24 when they team travels to Purchase, N.Y. to take on the Valiants of Manhattanville College. The Conference Tournament begins with semifinal round action on May 2 with the championship game slated for May 5 at the highest remaining seed.

Following's today's non-league game at Neumann, the team plays their home opener this Saturday at 1 p.m., hosting the Pride of Widener University.

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