INDIANAPOLIS – The Bellarmine University women's soccer team has been voted by the league coaches to win the 2016 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship, it was announced by the Conference office Thursday. The Knights, who finished the 2015 campaign with a 17-3-2 record, earned the lion’s share of first-place votes with 13 and 222 total points in the GLVC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll.
Quincy University (205 points) was picked second and earned two first-place votes, while Truman State University (193) garnered the other first-place vote for the third slot. The University of Missouri-St. Louis (183) came in at No. 4, and Rockhurst University (161) rounds out the top-five positions.
The Knights return to the pitch under the direction of third-year mentor Chris Tinius, who enjoyed another successful season in Louisville after leading his 2015 squad to a 12-1-2 league record and Bellarmine’s first-ever GLVC regular season title as well as the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Championship Tournament. Tinius was also named the GLVC Coach of the Year and NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year for his efforts throughout the season that included guiding his Knights to the NCAA Regional Championship game. Back on the roster in her final season is reigning GLVC Offensive Player of the Year Mary Beth Gorham, who will also be joined by a handful of other All-GLVC performers that includes First Team redshirt-junior goalkeeper Taylor Smith – last season’s leader in goals against average (0.53).
Dave Musso has been leading Quincy for the past 10 seasons and returns in 2016 after a 14-4-4 record a year ago to go along with a 9-3-3 GLVC mark and an appearance in the GLVC Championship Tournament semifinals, as well as the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals. The Hawks return sophomore forward Abby Pullium, who earned last year’s GLVC Freshman of the Year nod and was an All-GLVC First Team pick.
Ranked third in this year’s preseason poll is defending GLVC Champions Truman State. Mike Cannon leads the Bulldogs into his 24th season after becoming just the eighth NCAA Division II head coach to surpass the 300-win plateau last year with a 15-3-5 record. The GLVC Championship was Truman’s first ever in program history, and it will bring back a pair of All-GLVC team members in junior goalkeeper Taylor Mattingly and redshirt-senior Stephanie Williams from that squad.
Drury University (152), Lewis University (138), University of Wisconsin-Parkside (126), McKendree University (110), and Maryville University (107) come out in spots 6-10, while University of Indianapolis (80), William Jewell College (77), University of Southern Indiana (69), University of Illinois Springfield (45), Missouri S&T (32) and Saint Joseph’s College (20) respectively round out the remaining six places in the GLVC Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll.
Be sure to follow @GLVCsports on Twitter and Instagram – hashtag #GLVCwsoc – and stay tuned for select coverage throughout the season on the GLVC Sports Network.
| 2016 GLVC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll |
| 1. Bellarmine |
222 (13) |
| 2. Quincy |
205 (2) |
| 3. Truman State |
193 (1) |
| 4. Missouri-St. Louis |
183 |
| 5. Rockhurst |
161 |
| 6. Drury |
152 |
| 7. Lewis |
138 |
| 8. UW-Parkside |
126 |
| 9. McKendree |
110 |
| 10. Maryville |
107 |
| 11. Indianapolis |
80 |
| 12. William Jewell |
77 |
| 13. Southern Indiana |
69 |
| 14. Illinois Springfield |
45 |
| 15. Missouri S&T |
32 |
| 16. Saint Joseph's |
20 |