WINTHROP, Mass. – Five-time defending league champion Lasell College has finished first in the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, as voted upon by the GNAC's 12 head coaches. The announcement was handed down on Tuesday morning.
Saint Joseph's, 8-10-2 overall and 5-5-1 in GNAC play under the watch of third-year Head Coach Jenelle Harris last fall, is ranked sixth after receiving 87 points and one first-place vote in the coaches' poll. The Monks figure to rebound after suffering the just the sixth losing season in the 27-year history of the women's soccer program.
The Lasers received 138 points and eight first-place votes in the voting, creating separation from second-place Emmanuel College and third-place Simmons College. Two crosstown rivals, Emmanuel garnered 129 points and two first-place tallies while Simmons collected 124 points and one first-place nod.
Lasell (17-5, 11-0 GNAC) upended Emmanuel (13-11, 8-3 GNAC), 6-1, in last year's GNAC Championship before falling to Williams in NCAA Tournament action. Meanwhile, Simmons (9-7-3, 8-3 GNAC) suffered a quarterfinal round exit from the 2014 GNAC Tournament, as the Sharks saw Johnson & Wales University advance to the semis on penalty kicks.
Albertus Magnus College (11-8-1, 7-3-1 GNAC) finished fourth in the ledger with 107 points, while the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (10-7-1, 7-3-1 GNAC) rounded out the top-five with 91 points. A year ago, Albertus Magnus topped USJ in the GNAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
Saint Joseph's College of Maine (8-10-2, 5-5-1 GNAC) received 87 points and one first-place vote to take home the sixth position, followed by Johnson & Wales (10-11-2, 6-4-1 GNAC) with 82 points, Suffolk University (5-9-3, 4-4-3 GNAC) with 57 points and Mount Ida College (3-13-1, 2-8-1 GNAC) with 49 points.
Anna Maria College (6-11-1, 1-9-1 GNAC) and Norwich University (3-12-1, 1-9-1 GNAC) finished in a tie with 26 points apiece, narrowly ahead of Rivier University (6-12, 1-10 GNAC), which totaled 22 points.
Teams begin action next Tuesday, September 1, with GNAC play beginning on Thursday, Sept. 10. The 2015 GNAC Tournament is set to get underway on Saturday, October 31 with the quarterfinal round at high seeds, with the championship contest scheduled for Saturday, November 7.
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
2015 GNAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Lasell (8) - 136
2. Emmanuel (2) - 129
3. Simmons (1) - 124
4. Albertus Magnus - 107
5. St. Joseph (Conn.) - 91
6. Saint Joseph's of Maine (1) - 87
7. Johnson & Wales - 82
8. Suffolk - 57
9. Mount Ida - 49
T10. Anna Maria - 26
T10. Norwich - 26
12. Rivier - 22
COURTESY OF GNAC SPORTS INFORMATION
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
