JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman women's soccer team earned 70 points placing the Eagles seventh overall in the South Atlantic Conference preseason poll.
"The girls had a good year last year," Carson-Newman head soccer coach Richard Moodie said. "I think if you look at the record and the amount of games that we tied, arguably we could have ended up with a higher ranking."
C-N is seven points behind the sixth place team and SAC rival Tusculum, and eight points behind Queens at fifth.
The Eagles defeated the Royals on last season's senior night 1-0 via an unassisted goal by now graduated Danna Stringle (Canada) in the 34th minute.
Wingate topped the women's soccer preseason poll with 117 points and seven first place votes closely followed by Lenoir-Rhyne with 110 points and four first place votes.
Lincoln Memorial and Catawba make up the third and fourth places respectively. LMU garnered one first place nomination and tallied 93 points while Catawba roped in 83 points.
"Looking at how things are going now," Coach Moodie said, "we will definitely finish higher than the seventh place team."
Last season, C-N toppled both the Railsplitters and the Indians. For their first road game, the Eagles drowned Catawba 3-1 with two goals by then junior captain Sidnee Edwards (Knoxville, Tenn.) and one from then freshman Gabrielle Gianeselli (Knoxville, Tenn.).
Carson-Newman won 3-2 in overtime at LMU. Now graduated Lizeth Munguia (Wilmington, NC) put up two points and Gianeselli claimed the third and winning goal eight minutes into the first OT.
Newberry, Anderson, Mars Hill, Coker and Brevard follow C-N in that order with 50, 44, 31, 24 and 16 points respectively.
"It's not how you start," Coach Moodie said, "it's how you finish."
The Eagles kick off their 2014 season Sept. 4 at Tampa. C-N hosts Young Harris in its first home match Sept. 10 at 5 p.m.
