(L-R) West Chester's Sarah Oswald, Slippery Rock's Alison Hindley and Bloomsburg's Kelly Modes.
Lock Haven, Pa. - For the fifth straight year, West Chester has been picked as the preseason favorite in the PSAC East, only this year, the Golden Rams share the top spot with Bloomsburg, which finished in second place last year. For the second straight year, Slippery Rock is the preseason favorite in the PSAC West, highlighting the 2009 PSAC women’s soccer preseason poll.
West Chester, which advanced to the NCAA regional championship game last year, has been tabbed as the PSAC East favorite each year since the PSAC instituted a preseason poll for women’s soccer prior to the 2005 season. This year, however, is the first time there have been co-favorite in the Eastern Division, as Bloomsburg, which finished just three points behind the Golden Rams in second place a year ago, also received two first place votes like West Chester. The voting was very spread out in the East, as four different teams received first place votes. Shippensburg, which came in third in the voting, also got two first place votes. The Lady Raiders were followed by Kutztown, East Stroudsburg, Millersville and Mansfield in the East. East Stroudsburg got the remaining first place vote.
In the West, Slippery Rock, which tied for second place in the Western Division last year just one point out of first place, is the favorite again for the second consecutive season despite receiving just two of eight first place votes. The Rock, which has qualified for three straight NCAA tournaments, was voted second on the remaining six ballots. Defending PSAC tournament and NCAA regional champion Mercyhurst came in second despite receiving five first place votes, as they were listed below second place on two ballots. The Lakers finished tied for second with The Rock last year during the regular season before hosting and winning the PSAC tournament and coming within one win of the NCAA semifinals. Defending PSAC West champion Gannon received the lone remaining first place vote and came in third and were followed by IUP, California, Edinboro, Lock Haven and Clarion.
West Chester will have to sustain some heavy losses from last year’s team, including PSAC East Player of the Year Lauren Boyer and starting goalkeeper Hilary Smart as well as backup goalkeeper Brittany Barnes. Also gone from last year’s team is first team All-American Brittany Yetter, who was the team’s second-leading scorer with 27 points on nine goals and nine assists. Both Boyer and Yetter were four-time first time all-conference honorees. The Golden Rams, who have made six straight appearances in the NCAA tournament, will have the luxury of having leading scorer Sarah Oswald back, however. Oswald scored 13 goals and compiled 30 points to lead the Golden Rams last year, including seven game-winning goals.
Bloomsburg, under the direction of reigning PSAC East Coach of the Year Sandy Dickson, made a 5.5-game improvement last year over 2007 and qualified for both the PSAC and NCAA tournaments. The Huskies will look to duplicate that success and more this year as they return two first team all-conference selections in midfielder Kelly Modes and back Kristine Preski. Three of the Huskies’ top four scorers return in Modes, Preski and Kelsey Stoka, as does goalkeeper Frances Nicoletti, who played every minute in goal last year for Bloomsburg and compiled a 1.12 goals against average.
Slippery Rock, which won the PSAC West two years ago, returns a veteran squad this year in search of the program’s fourth straight NCAA appearance. Last year’s two leading scorers return in Alison Hindley, a second team All-PSAC West selection last year, and Ashley Paganie, a first team pick, which should make for a powerful scoring duo up front. Hindley’s 15 goals and 30 points led the team while Paganie’s 10 assists led the team and her nine goals and 28 points were second on the team. In the net, goalkeeper Sarah Lacy returns for her senior season after seeing the majority of time at keeper last year. The Rock will also have 14 newcomers on the squad, including three from Ireland.
Listed below are the preseason PSAC women’s soccer coaches polls. First place votes are in parenthesis.
Eastern Division
T1. Bloomsburg (2)
T1. West Chester (2)
3. Shippensburg (2)
4. Kutztown
5. East Stroudsburg (1)
6. Millersville
7. Mansfield
Western Division
1. Slippery Rock (2)
2. Mercyhurst (5)
3. Gannon (1)
4. IUP
5. California
6. Edinboro
7. Lock Haven
8. Clarion