GREENWOOD, Ind. – Cedarville officially completed the two-sport sweep as front-runner following the results of the 2016 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour released on Friday.
The Yellow Jackets are coming off of their first G-MAC Championship and paced all schools in the balloting with 48 points that included three first-place votes.
Cedarville enters the fall with a new coach at the helm, Jonathan Meade, after earning the conference’s first at-large appearance in the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional. Meade is the leader of the Yellow Jackets after joining the program from incoming G-MAC institution Ohio Dominican.
The balanced G-MAC has crowned four different women’s soccer champions in as many years (2012 – Trevecca Nazarene; 2013 – Davis & Elkins; 2014 – Ursuline; 2015 – Cedarville).
This year’s runner-up in the preseason poll is Ursuline after the Arrows collected 39 points in the voting.
The graduation of playmaking standout Vanessa Consiglio (2014 CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year; 2015 G-MAC Female Collegiate Achievement Award winner) leaves a considerable void, but Ursuline will undoubtedly be in the mix at year’s end.
Also welcoming a new coach is Davis & Elkins, picked third with 33 points and one first-place vote.
D&E’s Meghan Gill inherits a high-powered offense spearheaded by sophomore sensation Katrina Giantsopoulos, last year’s NCAA leader in points, points per game and goals per game.
One point behind in the voting was Trevecca Nazarene in fourth with 32, also with one first-place vote. Kentucky Wesleyan tallied 28 points for a hold of fifth in the preseason poll.
Malone will start a new era in the G-MAC ranked sixth with 23 points in the balloting. Alderson Broaddus was ranked seventh and Ohio Valley eighth, respectively, to begin the new season.
The conference will be publishing comprehensive season previews for each institution leading up to the start of the new year. The season previews will include interviews with coaches/student-athletes.
The schedule for releasing G-MAC women’s soccer season previews is as follows:
Ohio Valley – Monday, Aug. 22
Alderson Broaddus – Tuesday, Aug. 23
Trevecca Nazarene – Wednesday, Aug. 24
Malone – Wednesday, Aug. 24
Kentucky Wesleyan – Thursday, Aug. 25
Ursuline – Thursday, Aug. 25
Davis & Elkins – Friday, Aug. 26
Cedarville – Friday, Aug. 26
2016 G-MAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Cedarville (6 first-place votes) |
48 |
| 2. Ursuline |
39 |
| 3. Davis & Elkins (1 first-place vote) |
33 |
| 4. Trevecca Nazarene (1 first-place vote) |
32 |
| 5. Kentucky Wesleyan |
28 |
| 6. Malone |
23 |
| 7. Alderson Broaddus |
14 |
| 8. Ohio Valley |
7 |