SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Defending Southern Conference tournament champion Furman is the preseason favorite to win the 2021 Southern Conference women’s soccer title in voting of the league’s 10 head coaches. The Paladins edged Samford 2-1 in the 2020-21 Southern Conference Championship to claim their seventh tournament title and first since 2015.  
 
The coaches also selected an 11-member preseason all-conference team. Furman and Samford picked up a league-best four selections each, while The Citadel, Mercer and Chattanooga each placed one on the team.
 
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams or players in the balloting.
 
Furman, which garnered seven first-place votes, finished with 79 points. Samford, the 2019 SoCon tournament champion and 2020-21 regular-season champion, was second with 73 points and two first-place votes. Mercer was picked third with 60 points and garnered the final first-place vote, while Chattanooga was picked fourth with 58 points. UNC Greensboro, the 2017 and 2018 SoCon tournament champion, was selected fifth with 45 points and Western Carolina was right behind with 42 points to take sixth. Wofford (30), The Citadel (28) and ETSU (25) were separated by just five points, finishing in seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively, while VMI rounded out the poll with 10 points.
 
Furman went 8-1-2 overall last season and 6-0-2 in league play, finishing second in the regular season en route to the championship title. The Paladins return nine starters from that squad, including four preseason all-conference selections – Jasmine Greene and 2020-21 SoCon Player of the Year Isabella Gutierrez at forward, 2020-21 SoCon Freshman of the Year Nieva Gaither in the midfield, and defender Faith Hauberg – all of whom were all honored on the 2020-21 all-conference teams, with Greene and Gutierrez earning spots on the first team and Gaither and Hauberg being selected to the second team.
 
Gutierrez netted four goals and amassed 10 points in conference games a season ago, both second amongst league players, while Gaither led the league in shots (31), was third in assists (four), and was fourth in points per game (1.00) in league play. Greene, the 2019 SoCon Player of the Year, netted the game-winner in the SoCon Championship game, scoring with just 17 seconds left in double overtime.
 
Samford put forward Taylor Yount, midfielder Alyssa Frazier, defender Kylie Gazza and goalkeeper Morgan McAslan on the preseason all-conference team. All four were first-team all-conference picks last season. The Bulldogs went 8-2-3 overall and 7-0-2 in league play in 2020-21.
 
Yount scored three goals in conference play, while Frazier amassed three assists and Gazza tallied six points. McAslan, a senior, posted a 0.22 goals against average in SoCon contests and owned a .909 save percentage, allowing just two goals to 20 saves in nine league games.
 
Mercer, which made an appearance in the tournament semifinals last season after amassing an 8-10-1 record and finishing 5-3 in league action, put midfielder Ciara Whitely, a 2020-21 second-team all-conference pick, on the preseason all-conference squad.
 
Chattanooga finished the 2020-21 campaign 7-3-1 overall and 6-2-1 in SoCon play, finishing third in the league standings and earning a spot in the SoCon semifinal before falling 1-0 at eventual SoCon tournament champion Furman. Defender Maggie Shaw, the 2020-21 Defensive Player of the Year, represents the Mocs on the preseason all-conference team.
 
The Citadel forward Suzuka Yosue, a first-team all-conference selection a season ago, rounds out the preseason squad.
 
The 2021 regular season begins on Thursday, Aug. 19, as The Citadel, ETSU, Mercer, UNCG, Samford, Chattanooga, VMI and Western Carolina are all in action. Furman and Wofford get underway the following day.
 
The SoCon Women’s Soccer Championship will feature all 10 schools. The first round will feature two matchups, No. 7 vs. No. 10 and No. 8 vs. No. 9, and will be held at the higher seeds on Oct. 26. The quarterfinals and semifinals, hosted by the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, will take place on Oct. 29 and Oct. 31, respectively. The SoCon Championship will be held at the highest remaining seed on Nov. 6 or Nov. 7.
 
 
2021 Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
 

1. Furman (7)	79
2. Samford (2)	73
3. Mercer (1)	60
4. Chattanooga	58
5. UNCG	45
6. Western Carolina	42
7. Wofford	30
8. The Citadel	28
9. ETSU	25
10. VMI	10

() denotes first-place votes

2021 Women’s Soccer Preseason All-Conference Team
F    Suzuka Yosue, The Citadel
F    Jasmine Greene, Furman
F    Isabella Gutierrez, Furman
F    Taylor Yount, Samford
MF Nieva Gaither, Furman
MF Ciara Whitely, Mercer
MF Alyssa Frazier, Samford
D    Faith Hauberg, Furman
D    Kylie Gazza, Samford        
D    Maggie Shaw, Chattanooga
GK Morgan McAslan, Samford