Feb. 17, 2004

Baltimore, MD - Johns Hopkins junior defender Lacey-Leigh Hentz (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) and senior midfielder Heidi Pearce (Chestertown, MD/St. Andrew's-DE) were named to the Preseason All-American Lacrosse Conference Team in a vote by the league's head coaches, the conference announced Tuesday.

Hentz, who was named to the all-conference first team in each of the last two years, appeared in 14 games on the Blue Jay defense in 2003. Despite missing two games with an ankle injury, Hentz still led Hopkins with 31 caused turnovers and ranked fifth with 42 ground balls. Hentz, who ranked third in the league and 17th in Division I with 2.21 caused turnovers a game and was eighth in the ALC with 3.00 ground balls a game, scored her only goal of the season on April 7 against No. 9 Penn State.

Pearce, who was named to the all-conference first team as a sophomore and to the second team as a junior, started all 16 games for Hopkins last season, ranking second on the team with 24 goals, 15 assists, and 39 points. She led the Blue Jays and placed third in the conference with 54 ground balls, and tied for second on the team with 24 caused turnovers. Pearce, who ranked sixth in the league with 1.00 assists per game, led Hopkins to a 12-2 win over No. 14 North Carolina on April 27 by scoring four goals and adding two assists for a season-high six points. She added five points in a victory over William & Mary on March 8, and recorded four points in wins over Davidson and Villanova.

The Blue Jays, who were picked fourth in the preseason conference poll and No. 20 in the IWLCA Preseason Poll last week, open their season on Friday, February 27, when Hopkins travels to Davidson for a 4 p.m. conference game with the Wildcats.

ALC Preseason Team:
Michelle Allen, Vanderbilt
KC Carter, Ohio State
Lacey-Leigh Hentz, Johns Hopkins
Katie Jeschke, Penn State
Lynz Keys, Ohio University
Courtney Koester, Northwestern
Regina Oliver, Ohio State
Becky Oxman, Ohio University
Heidi Pearce, Johns Hopkins
Lauren Peck, Vanderbilt
Jess Roguski, Vanderbilt
Lee Tortorelli, Penn State