SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Two-time defending Southern Conference regular-season champion Samford was picked to win the league again in 2016 in preseason voting by the SoCon’s 10 head coaches. The coaches also selected an 11-member preseason all-conference team, with the Bulldogs dominating the squad with five selections.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams or players in the balloting.
Samford collected eight first-place votes and 80 points to easily outdistance runner-up and defending SoCon tournament champion Furman, which picked up 68 points and one first-place vote. UNCG was third in the poll with 61 points and collected the remaining first-place vote. Mercer (58 points), ETSU (56), Western Carolina (42), Wofford (31), Chattanooga (25), VMI (17) and The Citadel (12) rounded out the poll, which mirrored the final standings from 2015.
Under the direction of three-time SoCon Coach of the Year Todd Yelton – who has won the award in each of the last two seasons – Samford went 14-5-1 in 2015, turning in an 8-1-0 league record. The Bulldogs return nine starters from that squad, including senior forward Malcanisha Kelley, who was second in the SoCon with 13 goals and 31 points and became Samford’s career goal-scoring leader (28) last year.
Kelley is joined on the preseason all-conference team by fellow Samford forward Jermaine Seoposenwe, who is currently starting for South Africa at the Rio Olympics, defender Olivia Cole, the 2015 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, midfielder Taylor Borman and keeper Katie Peters.
Furman, which won its second tournament title in three seasons last year, returns seven starters from that 17-5-1 squad (7-1-1 SoCon), including preseason all-conference selection Carlie Couch, an all-conference forward who scored 13 points on six goals and an assist last year. The Paladins will also see the return of keeper Rose Hull, a three-time all-conference selection who missed the majority of last season with an injury and who enters the season with the fourth-best career goals-against average (0.83) in league history. Furman will be without the services of the graduated two-time SoCon Player of the Year and 2016 SoCon Female Athlete of the Year Stephanie DeVita, who led the league with 18 goals and 40 points last season and wrapped up her career atop the SoCon’s career goals list (68) and second on the scoring list (159 points).
UNCG went 9-9-3 overall and 6-2-1 in the league in coach Michael Coll’s second season. The Spartans placed defender Georgia Brown, a two-time All-SoCon pick, on the preseason squad, and also return 2015 SoCon Freshman of the Year Caylin Prillaman, a forward. Gone is three-time all-conference forward Chesney White, one of six departed seniors from last year.
Mercer, the 2014 SoCon tournament champion, put two midfielders on this year’s preseason team in Maddie Clark and Katelyn Dimopoulos. The duo earned second-team All-SoCon honors last year, with Dimopoulos ranking fourth in the league with seven goals and eighth with 16 points. The Bears must contend with the loss of graduated keeper Maggie Cropp, who finished her career atop the league’s career GAA list after turning in a 0.72 mark in her two years in the SoCon.
ETSU placed midfielder Molly Collinson and defender Emily McKerlie on the preseason 11. Collinson, who was fourth in the league with 20 points and seventh with six goals last season, is among 10 returning starters for the Bucs. ETSU also returns second-team all-conference players Simona Koren and Paola Roversi but must overcome the loss of 2015 SoCon Player of the Year Sarah Zadrazil and her seven goals, seven assists and 21 points as a senior.
The 2016 regular season begins on Friday, Aug. 19, with nine league teams in action. The 2016 SoCon Women’s Soccer Championship will include all 10 members, with first-round matches between seeds 7-10 on campus sites on Oct. 26, followed by quarterfinals on campus sites on Oct. 30 or 31. The semifinals and final will be played at ETSU’s Summers-Taylor Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn., on Nov. 4 and 6, respectively.
2016 Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. Samford (8) 80
2. Furman (1) 68
3. UNCG (1) 61
4. Mercer 58
5. ETSU 56
6. Western Carolina 42
7. Wofford 31
8. Chattanooga 25
9. VMI 17
10. The Citadel 12
() denotes first-place votes
2016 Women’s Soccer Preseason All-Conference Team
F Carlie Couch, Furman
F Malcanisha Kelley, Samford
F Jermaine Seoposenwe, Samford
MF Molly Collinson, ETSU
MF Maddie Clark, Mercer
MF Katelyn Dimopoulos, Mercer
MF Taylor Borman, Samford
D Emily McKerlie, ETSU
D Georgia Brown, UNCG
D Olivia Cole, Samford
GK Katie Peters, Samford
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