The St. Lawrence University women's lacrosse team is ready to start their 2026 season this Saturday, February 21, as they take on No. 19 Babson College in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The Saints enter the season under the leadership of head coach Tom Ryan, who enters his second season with the Scarlet and Brown. "We have been showing up consistently with intent and focus so far this spring," said Ryan. "They are a committed group that want to play well for each other."

Last season, the Saints faced a tough schedule both in and out of conference play, finishing the year with a record of 7-10 and 5-5 for Liberty League play. SLU advanced to the first round of the Liberty League Tournament and took RIT to overtime, but the Tigers claimed a 13-12 win to advance.

The captains for the 2026 season are Gabs Cloutier, Caroline Hamilton and Kelsey O'Brien.

Picked to finish sixth in the conference this season, up two spots from 2025, St. Lawrence returns eight of their top 10 scorers from last season, led by Jessica LaPlaca. LaPlaca, earned Liberty League Honorable Mention accolades in 2025 and tallied 36 goals and 14 assists for 50 points. She also scored six free-position goals, one game winner, picked up 19 ground balls, caused 13 turnovers and won 10 draw controls.

LaPlaca is followed by Cate Rathnam, Hamilton, Phoebe Spaeth, Kelsey Roth, Keira Dodd, Lily Stanton and Ava O'Rourke. Rathnam ranked third last year with 16 goals and five helpers, while Hamilton tallied 14 goals and five assists.

"We have loads of talent on the offensive end of the field. If we move the ball like we can and play unselfishly, we will be tough to stop."

In addition to the Saints' trio of captains, Ashley Mudd and Camryn Sipher are back for their senior campaigns, as the grouping of five make up the Class of 2026.

For the junior class, this includes Dodd, LaPlaca, Roth, Spaeth, Ruthie Haims, Hannah Jackson, Aria Lee, and Jolie Osborne.

The sophomore class is made up of seven members including returning goaltenders Zoe Froimovitz and Keating Gullott. The goalie tandem is joined by classmates O'Rourke, Rathnam, Stanton, Eliza D'Agostino, and Read Roy.

"Zoe and Kelsey O'Brien are back to bolster the back end," Ryan added. "We graduated most of our starting defense last year and have been rebuilding that unit. I am excited about the progress and look forward to seeing them in action against our early opponents."

O'Brien ranked second on the team with 35 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers last season, while Froimovitz finished the year with 124 saves for a 10.22 goals against average and a .434 save percentage.

The Saints welcome six first years, who will debut for the Saints in the 2026 season, including -  Adam Dembele, Winnie Downs, Abrianna Fults, Evelyn McAuliffe, Wynslet Skidmore and Tallis Tarbell.

After starting the season in sunny Florida, the Saints will return to the North Country to host SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday, February 24 on the brand-new turf at North Country Field. SLU will to SUNY Geneseo on the 28th to close out the month of February, before opening March with SUNY Canton on the 3rd.

The Saints then face a string of three road games at Middlebury, Rochester and Nazareth, before taking on Ithaca and William Smith at home on the tail end of spring break. St. Lawrence will then face another road stand at RPI, Union and Skidmore.

They face RIT at home on April 11th, take on Route 11 rival Clarkson in Potsdam on April 15th and host Vassar on senior day, Saturday, April 18th. The Saints close out the regular season on April 25th at Bard.

"We are excited to open up Saturday against Babson in West Palm Beach, Florida. It will be a challenging early season contest, as they are routinely a top team in DIII."

Follow the links to check out the Saints' latest news, roster, and schedule for the upcoming season.

2026 Liberty League Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
Place. Team, Points, (First-Place Votes)
1. William Smith, 94 (6)
2. Ithaca, 90 (5)
3. Union, 85
4. RIT, 77
5. RPI, 54
6. St. Lawrence, 51
7. Vassar, 48
8. Rochester, 34
8. Skidmore, 34
10. Clarkson, 28
11. Bard, 10