MOUNT VERNON – Coach Meredith Meier's women's lacrosse team made history last spring by hosting the program's first-ever conference tournament game.
 
Cornell's 11-10 quarterfinal loss to MSOE has been a motivator for this year's squad, seeking to take the next step with eight starters back.
 
"We were not satisfied with the end of last year," said Meier, who has led the Rams to 30 victories over the past three seasons. "We know we can do better. Our goal is to improve on last year."
 
The Rams are picked fourth in the 10-team Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Cornell placed fourth in the NACC last year at 5-4 and finished 7-9 overall.
 
Defending champion Lake Forest is the preseason favorite with 198 points, followed by Aurora (178), Edgewood (159), Cornell (129), MSOE (122) and Concordia Wisconsin (98). The top six teams qualify for the NACC Tournament.
 
The Rams open play Tuesday with a 5:30 p.m. game against Augustana in Rock Island, Ill. The challenging nonconference schedule features dates with UW-River Falls (Feb. 28), Swarthmore (March 13) and North Central (March 21) – all winning programs a season ago – and 2025 NCAA qualifier Hussan (March 10).
 
Cornell's home opener is March 17 against Augsburg. NACC play begins March 25 at Marian.
 
The Rams will field another strong defensive unit, anchored by first team all-NACC defender Ilsa Jeffery. The senior broke NACC single-season records for caused turnovers (54) and caused turnovers per game (3.38) in 2025. Jeffery ranks No. 2 on Cornell's career list for caused turnovers (103) and No. 5 in ground balls (148).
 
Second team all-league goalie Hannah Miech is Cornell's all-time leader for saves (329) and wins (28). The three-year starter went 6-7 with 104 saves last season.
 
Cornell brings back a pair of honorable mention all-NACC picks in senior attacker Sabrina Ibanez and senior midfielder Brynn Miroslavich. Ibanez is the team's top returning scorer (41 points, 24 goals) and won 44 draw controls. Miroslavich accounted for 20 goals, 45 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers.
 
Sophomores Natalie Hudgins and Ava Ferencz are coming off impressive rookie seasons with 20 and 16 goals, respectively. Hudgins tallied 21 caused turnovers, Ferencz 20.
 
Senior attacker Hailey Sieler and junior defender Madelyn Sheets both started every game they played last season.
 
The Rams will also be aided by a talented class of six first-year players. 
 
Miroslavich, Jeffery and Sheets have been voted team captains.
 
"We have a really talented senior class that has been together for four years," Meier said. "We've talked about goals that we can control – attitude, effort and being great teammates."