ROCK HILL, S.C. – Second-year head coach Carol Bonnes and the Carson-Newman Lady Eagle women's soccer team is picked to finish fourth in the 2011 South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, , the league announced on Thursday.
The Lady Eagles received 72 points and a first-place vote in the poll after sharing the SAC regular season title with Lenoir-Rhyne last season.
Carson-Newman had three players named to the 2011 Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Teams.
Senior forward Trenna Howell (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) received first team honors, while sophomore forward Bianca Hall (Newcastle, England) and sophomore defender Raquel Pimentel (New Port Richey, Fla.) earned second team accolades.
Howell, a first team All-SAC selection in 2010, ranked third in the conference in goals (12) and goals per game (0.86) last season. She was fourth in the league in points (28) and second in points per game (2.0) and dished out four assists on the year. Howell was also a second team Daktronics All-Southeast Region and NSCAA All-Southeast Region selection.
Hall scored five goals, including one match-winner, and tallied two assists for a total of 12 points in 2010, while Pimentel was a key contributor on a defense that helped C-N win its final eight matches of the regular season.
The Lady Eagles finished 2010 with an 11-7 record..
Lenoir-Rhyne, which finished one win shy of the 2010 NCAA Women's Soccer Final Four is the tops the preseason poll.
The Bears, 2010 co-regular season champions and Food Lion SAC Tournament winners, received nine of the 10 first-place votes.
L-R is also heavily represented on the preseason All-SAC team, with six first-team selections, including defending conference Player of the Year and Daktronics All-American Catherine Hauck. The Bears also have one student-athlete on the second team.
Wingate comes in at No. 2 in the preseason poll. The Bulldogs, runners-up in last season's Food Lion SAC Tournament, also have two first-team and one second-team preseason All-Conference selections. This includes 2010 first-team All-SAC honorees Izabella Miranda and Kelly Moldenhauer.
No. 3 in the poll is Tusculum, which features four preseason All-Conference selections. TC forward Tramicka James is the Pioneers' lone first-team selection after also being named to the 2010 All-SAC first team.
Carson-Newman, which tied Lenoir-Rhyne for the 2010 regular season title is fourth in the coaches' poll and received the other first-place vote. The Eagles also landed one student-athlete on the preseason All-SAC first team – 2010 first-team selection Trenna Howell – and two on the second team.
Next in the poll is Catawba at No. 5, Newberry at No. 6 and Lincoln-Memorial at No. 7. Catawba and Lincoln Memorial each placed two on the preseason All-Conference team, while Newberry has one.
Rounding out the coaches' poll is Mars Hill at No. 8, Anderson at No. 9 and Brevard at No. 10.
MHC has two preseason All-SAC selections, and Brevard and Anderson each have one.
The SAC women's soccer season officially kicks off on Sept. 1, and the Food Lion SAC Championship is slated for Nov. 1-6, with the semifinals and final taking place in Rock Hill.
-C-N-
SAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team - Points (1st Place)
1. Lenoir-Rhyne - 99 (9)
2. Wingate - 88
3. Tusculum - 73
4. Carson-Newman - 72 (1)
5. Catawba - 54
6. Newberry - 46
7. Lincoln-Memorial - 45
8. Mars Hill - 40
9. Anderson - 19
10. Brevard - 14
2011 Preseason All-SAC Women's Soccer Teams
First Team
F - Trenna Howell, Carson-Newman
F - Allie Hovis, Brevard
F - Sarah Taylor, Lincoln Memorial
F - Tramicka James, Tusculum
MF - Elizabeth Hawes, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF - Kaelia Frazier, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF - Catherine Hauck, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF - Izabella Miranda, Wingate
D - Jessica Schob, Lenoir-Rhyne
D - Casey McDonnell, Lenoir-Rhyne
D - Kelly Moldenhauer, Wingate
D - Cassie Smith, Newberry
GK - Caitlin Scruggs, Lenoir-Rhyne
Second Team
F - Bianca Hall, Carson-Newman
F - Laura Linehan, Lenoir-Rhyne
F - Patience Leonard, Tusculum
F - Juliana Conte, Catawba
MF - Leanne Reid, Lincoln Memorial
MF - Michelle Meade, Tusculum
MF - Kelly Adams, Wingate
MF - Carrie Settle, Anderson
D - Marissa DiMarco, Catawba
D - Racquell Pimental, Carson-Newman
D - Martha Taboas, Mars Hill
D - Amy Morford, Tusculum
GK - Chelsea Parker, Mars Hill
