GREENWOOD, Ind. – Reigning regular season and tournament champion Ursuline College was closely determined as the top team following the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll on Monday.
 
Last fall, the Arrows blazed their way to a 15-4 overall record, including an 8-2 run through the conference schedule while fending off Trevecca Nazarene University in the G-MAC Championship final.
 
Ursuline featured the eventual G-MAC Offensive Player of the Year Vanessa Consiglio and G-MAC Co-Coach of the Year Jason Kubbins.
 
Consiglio went on to lead the nation in assists and was also honored as the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America of the Year. The senior playmaker was also picked as the G-MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
Ursuline narrowly edged out Trevecca Nazarene by one point in the voting, garnering four first-place votes to the Trojans’ three. UC had 53 points while the youthful Trojans racked up 52.

The battle for the G-MAC’s first automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship figures to be a fierce one at the top of the standings. 
 
Cedarville University also received one first-place vote from the league’s coaches and pulled in at third.
 
Another close vote differential narrowly separated Kentucky Wesleyan University at fourth and Alderson Broaddus University in fifth. The Panthers had 35 points in the voting to the Battlers’ 34.
 
Trailing AB by just two points at sixth was Davis & Elkins College. The Senators matched TNU’s final G-MAC record at 7-1-2 in 2014.
 
Ohio Valley University (21) and Salem International University (15) rounded out the remainder of the preseason poll, respectively.
 
The G-MAC is working with member institutions for an extensive preseason preview later this month. Interviews with the head coach and a student-athlete along with a written team capsule will be posted on G-MACSports.com prior to the regular season getting underway.