Rock Hill, S.C. – The Carson-Newman Eagles women's soccer team has been selected as the favorite to win the 2017 SAC Women's Soccer Championship for the second straight year, as announced by the league this morning.

The Eagles, who won their second consecutive SAC Tournament a year ago, received eight first-place votes and a total of 103 votes. C-N is currently ranked 25th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NCSAA) Division II Preseason Poll. The Eagles finished 17-4-1 overall last season which included a trip to the second round of the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship.

Lenoir-Rhyne placed second in the poll collecting 86 points and two of the top votes. The Bears tied for first-place in the conference with C-N with an 8-2-1 record in league play. L-R also earned an at-large bid to the NCAA D-II Women's Soccer Championship in 2016.

Wingate pulled in at No. 3 in the poll with a total of 81 points. The Bulldogs finished with a 12-6-1 overall record and an 8-3 slate in conference play.

Queens followed in fourth-place with 70 points and one first-place vote, ahead of Tusculum who picked up 64 points. The Royals went 8-3 in SAC games with an overall record of 10-7 last season. The Pioneers closed out the season with a 10-5-3 mark, tying C-N and L-R in league play with an 8-2-1 record.

Anderson comes in at the sixth-place position with 53 points followed by Catawba in seventh with 49 points.

Newberry landed in the eighth spot with 35 points and Lincoln Memorial trailed behind with 33 points.

Coker and Mars Hill rounded out the top-11 in the preseason poll with the Cobras (17) edging the Lions (14) by three points.

The 2017 South Atlantic Conference women's soccer season is set to get underway on Thursday, Aug. 31.

The full preseason poll is shown below.

2017 SAC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll

-CN-