INDIANAPOLIS – Quincy University has been selected by the league coaches to successfully defend its Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Soccer Championship this fall, it was announced by the conference office Wednesday. The Lady Hawks captured both the conference regular-season title and first-ever tournament crown en route to a 16-3-2 record last season, including a 12-2-0 mark in league play. They garnered 10 of the 16 first-place votes and totaled 233 points in the GLVC Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll.
William Jewell College and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside have been picked to finish second and third, respectively, while Bellarmine University and Rockhurst University are slated to finish fourth and fifth in the conference standings.
Quincy, which ended the year in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championship semifinal, returns a handful of players from major knee injuries, including fifth-year senior
Sam Martinez, who was an All-Midwest Region defender in 2011. Ashley Burton was a consensus All-American last year, earning second-team accolades from Daktronics and third-team laurels from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. She also took home GLVC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Conference honors in her first year under the direction of GLVC Coach of the Year Dave Musso. Also back this season is senior midfielder Kristine Vogt and senior goalkeeper Jodi Chapie, both of whom were third-team All-GLVC selections a year ago.
William Jewell recorded 209 points and two first-place votes to finish second in the poll. The Jefferson Roblee-led Cardinals fell to Quincy in the GLVC Championship Tournament final last year, 1-0, before earning the third seed in the NCAA Midwest Regional. Jewell, which finish the 2012 campaign with a 15-3-3 record overall and an 11-1-3 mark in conference action, will be led this year by senior forward Sarah Franklin – the 2012 GLVC Offensive Player of the Year. Franklin finished eighth in the nation with six game-winning goals and 13
th overall with 16 goals en route to second-team All-American honors from the NSCAA.
UW-Parkside registered three first-place votes and 200 total points to rank third in the preseason poll, but just last week was the lone GLVC team to earn a national ranking by the NSCAA. The Rangers will start the season rated 19th after turning in a 14-5-1 record to finish 15th in the final 2012 poll. UWP concluded last year by falling 2-0 at Grand Valley State in the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship final. The Rangers managed their 13
th consecutive winning season under head coach Troy Fabiano while earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history and the third time in as many years.
Following Bellarmine and Rockhurst in the preseason poll is GLVC newcomer Truman State University (172 points) in sixth, Drury University (133) in seventh, McKendree University (123) in eighth, and the University of Southern Indiana (121) in ninth. The University of Indianapolis (112) and Lewis University (112) are projected to tie for 10
th in the conference standings, while the University of Missouri-St. Louis (71), Maryville University (59), Missouri S&T (56), the University of Illinois Springfield (26), and Saint Joseph’s College (22) round out the field.
The 16 GLVC women’s soccer teams will compete in a 15-game round-robin schedule during the regular season with the top eight teams earning a berth to the GLVC Championship Tournament. The top four seeds will host quarterfinal matches on campus on Nov. 3 with the four remaining teams heading to the top remaining seed site for the semifinals and final on Nov. 8 and 10.
The 2013 regular season will open on Sept. 5 with five GLVC teams in action. Conference play is slated to start on Sept. 13.
The complete 2013 GLVC Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll follows:
Team (First-place votes) Total Points
|
1. |
Quincy (10) |
233 |
|
2. |
William Jewell (2) |
209 |
|
3. |
UW-Parkside (3) |
200 |
|
4. |
Bellarmine |
198 |
|
5. |
Rockhurst (1) |
193 |
|
6. |
Truman State |
172 |
|
7. |
Drury |
133 |
|
8. |
McKendree |
123 |
|
9. |
Southern Indiana |
121 |
|
T-10. |
Indianapolis |
112 |
|
T-10. |
Lewis |
112 |
|
12. |
Missouri-St. Louis |
71 |
|
13. |
Maryville |
59 |
|
14. |
Missouri S&T |
56 |
|
15. |
Illinois Springfield |
26 |
|
16. |
Saint Joseph’s |
22 |