Defending champion Drury has been picked to finish second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason poll of league coaches released on Wednesday.
Quincy University has been selected as the favorite to win the 2008 Great Lakes Valley Conference women’s soccer championship in a vote of league coaches. The Lady Hawks received six first-place votes and 134 total points in the annual GLVC Women’s Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll to edge Drury, which collected five first-place votes and 130 points.
Drury returns nearly its entire starting lineup from the squad taht finished a school-best 17-5-3 overall and 8-3-2 in league play last season. Coach Alf Bilbao's Panthers, who advanced to the NCAA-II quarterfinals for the first time in school history last year, return two First Team All-GLVC players in senior defender Chloe Moushey and sophomore keeper Jessie Sanderson, who was named the league's Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year last season..
Quincy, headed by third-year coach Dave Musso, is coming off back-to-back NCAA Great Lakes Regional appearances and finished 14-6-1 overall and 10-3 in league play during the 2007 campaign. The Lady Hawks finished atop the GLVC standings in 2006 and will be looking for its first GLVC women’s soccer championship in 2008.
Northern Kentucky placed third in the poll with a total of 120 points and picked up one first-place vote. The Norse have won a GLVC-record six titles with the last coming in 2005 and completed the 2007 season with an 8-5 record in the GLVC and 12-6 overall record.
UW-Parkside, which posted an overall record of 11-6-1 in 2007, was selected to finish fourth in the GLVC standings in 2008 with 105 total points. The Rangers finished just ahead of UIndy in the voting for fourth place. The Greyhounds collected 103 total points and recorded the final first-place vote.
Rockhurst was selected to finish sixth in the preseason poll with a total of 92 points. The Hawks were followed by Missouri-St. Louis (72 total points), Bellarmine (71), Southern Indiana (53), Lewis (49), Saint Joseph’s (43), Missouri S&T (33) and Kentucky Wesleyan (12).
The 2008 season begins on Aug. 28 with non-conference competition. GLVC action is slated to begin on Sept. 12.
The top eight teams in the league standings will advance to the 2008 GLVC Tournament which is scheduled to begin on Nov. 2. The highest remaining seed following the quarterfinal round will host the GLVC semifinals and final on Nov. 7 and 9, respectively.
The complete 2008 GLVC Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll follows:
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Team (1st-place votes)
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Total Points
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1.
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Quincy (6)
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134
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2.
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Drury (5)
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130
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3.
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Northern Kentucky (1)
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120
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4.
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UW-Parkside
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105
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5.
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Indianapolis (1)
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103
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6.
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Rockhurst
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92
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7.
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Missouri-St. Louis
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72
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8.
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Bellarmine
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71
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9.
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Southern Indiana
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53
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10.
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Lewis
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49
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11.
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Saint Joseph’s
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43
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12.
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Missouri S&T
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33
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13.
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Kentucky Wesleyan
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12
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