INDIANAPOLIS – A total of 11 teams were ranked as Walsh held bragging rights with the new Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour that was released Monday.
 
The Cavaliers secured five total first-place votes for 91 points to pace the field. Under head coach Dave Renard, Walsh enjoyed a strong run last fall that included a runner-up finish in the Great Midwest Championship tournament.
 
Walsh then went on to receive an at-large selection in the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional and traveled to Saginaw Valley State for a first-round playoff victory. The Cavaliers had their 15-5-1 campaign ended by eventual national runner-up Grand Valley State.
 
Three other schools received at least one first-place vote and only one point separated Findlay and Trevecca Nazarene going into 2019.
 
The Oilers had the slight edge in the voting by the league’s coaches with 86 points on their ballot. UF also earned two first-place votes after advancing into the conference tourney semifinals a year ago.
 
TNU finished second in the conference standings during last year’s 13-4-2 season run and the Trojans gathered a total of three first-place votes heading into the fall. TNU had closed the regular season with five consecutive victories.
 
Trevecca Nazarene was also one of three Great Midwest programs represented in the final set of NCAA Midwest Region rankings published at the end of the conference tournament. Ohio Valley (No. 3) and Walsh (No. 6) were also ranked.
 
Ohio Dominican is ranked fourth followed by Cedarville in fifth, a testament to the depth of the conference with both programs considered viable contenders.
 
Ursuline, a tournament qualifier last season, is also in the mix in sixth with one coach picking the Arrows first while Malone and Tiffin will be battling for postseason hopes tied for seventh in the preseason coaches poll.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan, Lake Erie and Alderson Broaddus, also have playoff aspirations as they round out the final three spots of the poll, respectively.
 
Out of the picture for the upcoming season is two-time conference champion Ohio Valley, which recently announced it would suspend the women’s soccer program for one year. The Fighting Scots also hired a new coach within the last month with Telma Poole taking over for Luis Rincon.
 
Poole would have been the lone new name among the league’s coaches on the sidelines this fall with 10 familiar faces returning to lead their programs.

The 2019 Great Midwest Championship bracket shifts to a neutral site in Dayton, Ohio, at Roger Glass Stadium, on the campus of Chaminade Julienne High School. Opening-round quarterfinal contests will still be conducted on campus sites. 

Great Midwest Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
 

School	Points
1. Walsh (5 first-place votes)	98
2. Findlay (2 first-place votes)	86
3. Trevecca Nazarene (3 first-place votes)	85
4. Ohio Dominican	72
5. Cedarville	66
6. Ursuline (1 first-place vote)	57
t7. Malone	39
t7. Tiffin	39
9. Kentucky Wesleyan	30
10. Lake Erie	25
11. Alderson Broaddus	15