ARIZONA GIRLS LACROSSE ASSOCIATION DIVISION I

The Team to Beat: Chaparral

The Firebirds are the clear-cut favorite to win it all this year after they fell short against Pinnacle in the 2009 state championship game. Chaparral graduated just four seniors and will have five players back who were named either first-team All-State or honorable-mention All-State last season.

Leading the way will be George Washington-bound senior defender Madison Pohle, who is just the second player in Arizona to sign a national letter of intent to a Division I program in the last several years. First-team All-State defender Catherine Daem is also back in the mix.

Pohle’s little sister, junior middie Makenna Pohle, made the state’s honorable-mention list last season, as did senior middie Laura Eckhardt and senior defender Hilary Novatt. The Firebirds will also get a big boost from two transfer students from New York, senior attack Teddy Sulliman and freshman middie Scarlett Sulliman.

Contenders: Horizon, Pinnacle

Horizon will have a new head coach this season, as two-time WSL Arizona Player of the Year Stefani Laub takes over for Floyd Samons, who will stay on as an assistant. Laub will inherit a senior-heavy team that will compete for the top spot. Senior attack Emily Potter, junior attack Lily Baxter, junior middie Alexis Montano, junior middie Madison Kinzley and junior defender Tasha Harder will make up the backbone of this season’s squad.

This will be a transition year for defending state champion Pinnacle, which graduated four first-team All-State players and has had an offseason coaching change. Former assistant coach Jim Lindsey has taken over for Scott Stemm, and he will lead a team that still has seven returning starters. Senior middies Jenn McDonald and Lauren Littleton, and senior attack Emily Neumann, will be this team’s leaders.

Sleeper: Corona del Sol

The Aztecs graduated just four seniors off last year’s team and return the vast majority of their scoring. Behind senior attack-middie Elyse Braun and senior middie Kim Dorman, Corona del Sol could be ready to take a step forward in 2010. The coaching situation, however, is up in the air, with Cliff Prausa having stepped in as interim head coach while a replacement for Emily Miller is sought.

NCAA Division I Recruits: Jenn McDonald, MF, Pinnacle (High Point); Madison Pohle, Def., Chaparral (George Washington).

Pohle is the second Arizonan to sign with George Washington in the last two years, and she was one of two players in the state to garner U.S. Lacrosse All-American honors last season. When she gets to the Washington, D.C.-based campus, she’ll join close friend and former Desert Mountain standout Caitlyn O’Brien.

Other Top Players: Lily Baxter, Att., Horizon; Elyse Braun, Att.-MF, Corona del Sol (Tiffin); Maddie Chapman, MF, Horizon; Elena Cuomo, MF, Desert Mountain; Catherine Daem, Def., Chaparral; Baylie Depp, Att., Chaparral; Kim Dorman, MF, Corona del Sol; Laura Eckhardt, MF, Chaparral; Grace Flynn, MF, Xavier; Tasha Harder, Def., Horizon; Madison Kinzley, MF, Horizon; Lauren Littleton, MF, Pinnacle; Alexis Montano, MF, Horizon; Kirsti McCall, G, Gilbert; Emily Neumann, Att., Pinnacle; Hilary Novatt, Def., Chaparral; Makenna Pohle, MF, Chaparral; Emily Potter, Att., Horizon; Teddy Sulliman, Att., Chaparral; Scarlett Sulliman, MF, Chaparral; Stephanie Richie, Att., Gilbert; Leslie Wankowicz, MF, Xavier; Bridget Williams, MF, Desert Mountain.

Preseason Top 7: 1. Chaparral, 2. Horizon, 3. Pinnacle, 4. Corona del Sol, 5. Gilbert, 6. Xavier, 7. Desert Mountain.

Notes: There will be seven teams in Division I this season, up from six in 2009. All six of last year’s top-flight teams remain and have been joined by promoted Xavier, which won the Division II state championship....Former Dobson and Red Mountain head coach Andrew Kay has taken over for Brittany Bingold at Gilbert. Kay will be the Tigers’ third head coach in the last three seasons....Chaparral seniors Madison Pohle and Laura Eckhardt were both named U.S. Lacrosse All-Americans as juniors....Desert Mountain brings back seven starters, but the Wolves graduated an NCAA Division I player and lost more than two-thirds of its scoring....Newly promoted Xavier will be fighting an uphill battle in 2010 after graduating 13 seniors from its Division II state championship team. Caitlin Bebout has taken over as head coach for Megan Madigan and is the Gators’ third head coach in three seasons.