Coaches select Spartans for women's soccer title
WAUKESHA, Wis. -- The Northern Athletics Conference announced its 2011 women's soccer preseason coaches' poll and Aurora, five-time defending champion, snagged the top spot receiving 11 of 13 first-place votes and 161 poll points.
The Spartans have tallied a 55-2-1 record in conference play since the league's inaugural season in 2006, including an 11-0-1 league record in 2010 (16-6-1 overall).
Aurora lost defensive player of the year, Cait Hartman, to graduation, but return eight players that received conference recognition in 2010. The Spartans scored 3.48 goals per game which was good for No. 12 in all of NCAA III last season and shut out teams a league-best 13 times with their stellar defense.
Dominican (15-5-1, 10-1-1) was second in the poll with 150 points and a first-place vote, followed by Edgewood (15-5-1, 9-3-0) in third with 142 and MSOE (11-7-2, 8-2-2) in fourth with 132 and the remaining first-place vote. Concordia Wisconsin (11-9-1, 7-4-1) was picked fifth and Marian (9-8-1, 7-4-1) sixth to finish up the top half of the poll. The full preseason poll is available below.
Teams open play on Sept. 1, 2 or 3, and the first conference games take place on Sept. 6. The winner of the conference tournament, which takes place Oct. 29, through Nov. 5, receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA III Championship Tournament.
2011 Northern Athletics Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Aurora (11), 161
2. Dominican (1), 150
3. Edgewood, 142
4. MSOE (1), 132
5. Concordia Wisconsin, 119
6. Marian, 102
7. Benedictine, 100
8. Maranatha, 75
9. Alverno, 57
10. Lakeland, 55
11. Wisconsin Lutheran, 44
12. Concordia Chicago, 33
13. Rockford, 13
first-place votes in parentheses
voted on by the conference's 13 head coaches
