NJCU WOMEN’S SOCCER PICKED SEVENTH IN NJAC PRESEASON POLL

Friday, August 12, 2011 (Women's Soccer)

NJCU WOMEN'S SOCCER PICKED SEVENTH IN NJAC PRESEASON POLL

PITMAN, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com)...The New Jersey City University women's soccer team has been predicted to finish seventh in the New Jersey Athletic Conference standings this year, in a preseason poll of the league's 10 head coaches released on Friday.

NJCU, which also was projected to finish seventh last year, returns seven starters from a 2010 club that qualified for the NJAC Tournament for the first time in school history, finishing fifth in the league with a 14-7-1 overall record and 4-5 conference mark. NJCU owns a 17-3-1 home record since 2009.

"I think being picked seventh will be a motivating factor for the team and staff to work harder to try to get back to the NJAC Tournament this season," said sixth-year head coach ROBERT BIELAN. "A lot of teams see us as being competitive but some still don't feel we're a top six team. That's a motivating factor. We were in the NJAC Tournament last year and once you get that taste you want to be there all the time. We want to pick up where we left off last year as a smarter, stronger, program. We will do our best with a lot of new players and a lot of returners."

The College of New Jersey, winners of back-to-back NJAC titles and five of the last six crowns, was picked first overall and received nine of 10 first-place votes. Rowan University was second and William Paterson University, which received the lone remaining first-place vote, was slated to be third.

Richard Stockton College, Kean University and Montclair State University, were listed, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, followed by the Gothic Knights in seventh place. The top six teams in the league standings qualify for the NJAC Tournament which begins on October 29.

Rutgers-Newark, Rutgers University-Camden and Ramapo College round out the Top 10. Montclair State was chosen as the coaches' dark horse selection for the third time in six years.

The poll has been conducted every year since 2001, other than the 2002 season. TCNJ has been picked No. 1 in all but one poll since its inception. Meanwhile, the seventh-place prediction matches the highest in Gothic Knight team history.

—www.njcugothicknights.com—

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