Johnson, Terps women No. 1 in Lacrosse mag preview
Maryland junior Karri Ellen Johnson is Lacrosse Magazine's selection as the NCAA Division I Preseason Player of the Year while the defending national champion Terrapins are the preseason No. 1 team.
Johnson, a Broadneck graduate, is a two-time first-team All-American and has been named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team twice. She has scored 143 career goals and needs just six to crack the Terps' Top 10 all-time scorers list. In last season's national championship game, she scored three goals in the 13-11 win over Northwestern.
Coming off the 10th women's lacrosse national championship in school history, the Terps are favored to repeat in Lacrosse Magazine's preseason poll. They get the No. 1 spot over No. 2 Northwestern, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Duke and No. 5 Syracuse. Loyola is No. 13 and Towson, No. 16.
Maryland finished 22-1 last season to win its first national title since 2001. Three All-Americans return from that team -- Johnson, Sarah Mollison and Katie Schwarzmann (Century).
The Terps will meet the U.S. National Team in the Champions Challenge in Orlando Jan. 30. The game will be broadcast Jan. 31 at 12 a.m. on ESPNU. They kick off their season at Richmond on Feb. 13 and play their home opener against Penn State Feb. 20 at noon.
