JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Following a year in which they captured both the South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, the Carson-Newman women's soccer team has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the SAC. The Eagles received seven of a possible 12 first place votes.
Carson-Newman went 19-3 overall last season and posted a 10-1 record in conference. Their season included a 12-game win streak and they defeated Lincoln Memorial, Anderson and Wingate on their way to the tournament title. That run earned them a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament's South/Southeast Super Region.
Last season's success isn't the only thing that earned C-N the top preseason spot, however, as the team returns much of their core from 2015. One of the members of that core is reigning SAC Player of the Year Julianne Herrity, who scored 16 goals and racked up 36 total points, both the second most in the SAC. Herrity also earned recognition as a third-team NSCAA All-American.
There's also plenty of young talent back on the C-N roster led by the 2015 SAC Freshman of the Year Varin Ness. Her 12 goals and five assists were both fifth in the conference. Both Ness and fellow sophomore Heida Ragney were selected as first-team All-SAC performers at season's end. Ragney accumulated eight assists, which topped the SAC.
The defense is led by two All-SAC players in fullbacks Megan Peterson and Elissa Lane. They are backed up by sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Fraiture, who set a school record by winning 19 games last year and collected a conference best 10 clean sheets.
The Wingate Bulldogs came in at second in the preseason rankings, receiving three first place votes and 112 total points. They finished second in the conference last year with an 8-1-2 SAC record and a 15-3-2 overall mark.
Lenoir-Rhyne was the only other team to receive first place votes, as they obtained a pair, and their 106 points were good for third. Coincidentally, that is exactly where their 8-2-1 conference record and 12-4-2 overall ledger placed them at the end of 2015.
Keeping with the theme of last year, Queens is also placed in the same spot they finished at a season ago, fourth place. They received 89 points. Anderson's 81 points put them fifth.
Tusculum landed at the sixth spot with 65 points, six ahead of seventh place Newberry's 59. Lincoln Memorial garnered 57, which stuck them at eighth.
Coker is ranked ninth in the poll, followed by Catawba, Mars Hill and Brevard, respectively.
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