The Lions, who received all 10 first place votes cast by the coaches, finished the 2005 season with a 22-1-0 overall record and advanced to the championship match of the NCAA National Championship Tournament. TCNJ, which posted a perfect 9-0 league mark in 2005, suffered its only defeat last season in the NCAA title match, falling to eventual national champion Messiah, 1-0. Under the direction of 17th-year head coach Joe Russo, the Lions have posted an overall record of 297-29-19.

TCNJ returns both the reigning NJAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in junior midfielder Dana DiBruno and junior back Courtney Krol respectively. The Lions also return two additional all-conference players from last year’s NCAA national runner-up squad in sophomore back Laura Delaney and junior midfielder Kristen Cubicciotti.

Rowan University finished second in the poll after posting respective overall and conference marks of 15-1-3 and 7-1-1 in 2005. The Profs earned an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament and battled Johns Hopkins to a 1-1 first round draw before being eliminated in penalty kicks. Under the direction of eighth-year head coach Scott Leacott, Rowan has posted an overall record of 90-31-13. The Profs return four all-conference players including junior forward Aimee Yerkes, senior midfielder Jamie Weist, sophomore back Alicia Kavlunas, and senior goalkeeper Gabrielle Ditchey.

Richard Stockton College, which finished the 2005 season with a 5-3-1 conference mark while advancing to the semifinals of the NJAC Tournament, placed third in the poll. Under the guidance of fourth-year head coach Nick Juengert, the Ospreys have accumulated an overall record of 36-20-7. Stockton returns four all-conference players including junior midfielder Val Davison, junior back Sharon Davis, senior back Rachel Friel, and junior midfielder Katie Henderson.

After posting a 12-7-3 overall record while advancing to the championship match of the 2005 NJAC Tournament, Kean University placed fourth in the poll. Cougar head coach Brian Doherty, selected as the NJAC Coach of the Year by his peers last year, guided Kean to the Championship match of the 2005 ECAC Metro NY/NJ Tournament where the Cougars battled FDU-Florham to a 1-1 draw before falling in penalty kicks. Kean returns four all-conference seniors from last year’s squad including forward Heather Anzivino, forward Allison Fream, midfielder Lisa Battaglia, and midfielder Brienne Campbell.

The coaches’ dark horse selection, Montclair State University, was selected to finish fifth. The 2004 NJAC Champions have posted a 94-53-19 overall record in eight seasons under the direction of head coach Eileen Blair. The Red Hawks return four all-conference players including senior back Justine Barbato, sophomore back Nicole Kogut, senior midfielder Dara Nalven, and senior goalkeeper Kristin Kuhmann.

William Paterson University, under the direction of 10th-year head coach Keith Woods, was selected to place sixth. During Woods' tenure, the Pioneers have posted a 103-56-11 overall record. Paterson returns three all-conference players including the 2005 NJAC Rookie of the Year in sophomore forward Amanda Kurdyla. In addition to Kurdyla, the Pioneers return all-conference performers in senior forward Melissa Boka and junior back Alyson Salvacion.

Ramapo College, which finished 8-8-3 overall in 2005, was selected to place seventh. Led by eighth-year head coach Arnie Ramirez, the Roadrunners return four all-conference backs in junior Jessica Giordano, sophomore Erin Stern, senior Amanda Taylor and senior Samantha Traschetti.

Rutgers University-Camden, which is led by second-year head coach Tom Greenawalt, was tapped to place eighth. The Scarlet Raptors posted a 12-8-0 overall record in 2005 and earned the sixth seed in the NJAC Tournament during Greenawalt’s first year at the helm of the Camden program.

Under the leadership of new head coach Amanda Cobb, Rutgers University-Newark was selected to place ninth. The Scarlet Raiders return a pair of all-conference junior backs in Bobbie Byrd and Alex Marcus.

New Jersey City University, under the direction of new head coach Robert Bielan, was tapped for 10th place. The Gothic Knights return all-conference junior midfielder Katie Feehan.

NJAC league play will get underway on Wednesday, September 16 with all 10 teams in action.

The top six regular season finishers will advance to the 2006 NJAC Championship Tournament, with all matches played at the site of the highest seed. The NJAC Tournament first round will take place on Saturday, October 28 with the first and second-seeded teams receiving byes. The league semifinals will be held on Wednesday, November 1, and the 2006 NJAC Championship Match will take place on Saturday, November 4.