Coaches say Seahawks will finish seventh according to preseason poll
NEWPORT, R.I. - The Salve Regina University women's soccer team has been voted to finish seventh in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) in a preseason poll conducted by the coaches.
Last year's CCC women's soccer regular-season Champion, Endicott, was picked to lead the conference once again as it earned the top spot in the poll.
The Gulls nabbed 77 points in this year's voting including five of the nine first place votes cast by the league's nine head women's soccer coaches. They completed the 2017 campaign with a 8-0-1 CCC (13-5-1 overall) record, but fell victim to No. 4 seed Gordon in the CCC Tournament Semifinals.
Roger Williams, which claimed the 2017 CCC Tournament title, was picked second in this year's voting and earned the 74 points. Included among its point total were the remaining four first place votes. The Hawks posted a 7-1-1 league (14-8-2 overall) mark last season and entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed. After defeating the Fighting Scots in the CCC Championship they advanced to the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament where they lost to eventual NCAA Semifinalist TCNJ.
The Fighting Scots, the 2017 CCC Tournament runner-up ranked third in this year's poll garnering 63 points in the voting. Western New England, a conference tournament semifinalist a year ago, landed in the fourth spot in this year's poll with 53 points.
The University of New England and Wentworth both collected 38 points in the poll to tie for fifth, while Salve Regina (32 points), Curry (17), and Nichols (13) rounded out the ledger.
2018 CCC Women's Soccer Pre-season Coaches' Poll
- Endicott 77 (5)
- Roger Williams 74 (4)
- Gordon 63
- Western New England 53
- U. of New England 38
- Wentworth 38
- Salve Regina 32
- Curry 17
- Nichols 13
Head coach Jane Walsh enters her fourth season guiding the Seahawks and is confident her team will create many opportunities for success this season. It begins with the team's three senior captains Carly Pala (Milford, Conn.), Delaney Maxell (Lincoln, R.I.), and Abby McMackin(Walpole, Mass.), who took ownership of leading the squad in the spring. Kayla McLaughlin (East Hampton, Conn.) will return as a veteran center midfielder and the team will have the majority of their back line returning with Katie Szemreylo (Marlborough, Conn.) and Emily Szemreylo (Marlborough, Conn.), and Amanda Fantasia (Billerica, Mass.). After a strong spring season Molly Breslin (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) will work up top as a target forward. The Seahawks also have 13 incoming freshmen looking to contribute this season. Overall the team will have a lot of options and in the words of coach Walsh, "options are never a bad thing."
Read the full release from the Commonwealth Coast Conference at http://cccathletics.com/sports/wsoc/2018-19/releases/2018WSOCPoll
Salve Regina University
Salve Regina athletics sponsors 20 NCAA Division III varsity sports for men and women. The Seahawks compete in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC - baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, women's track and field, women's volleyball), New England Hockey Conference (NEHC - women's ice hockey), New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA - sailing). Beginning in 2017-18, Salve Regina will also sponsor equestrian as a varsity sport, and adds junior varsity programs for baseball and men's lacrosse.