ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the second consecutive season, the South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' poll projects a fourth-place finish for Carson-Newman women's soccer, as announced by the league office on Tuesday morning.
Carson-Newman earned 87 points in the poll, which was tied with Anderson for fourth place in the annual preseason poll voted on by the league's coaches. The Eagles beat the Trojans in the quarter-final round of the SAC tournament in 2023.
"I think it's fair for where we came out in the poll," Carson-Newman women's soccer head coach Simon Duffy said. "It could be a toss-up with us and Anderson in fourth, so finishing tied for fourth is fine. Our conference has just been getting stronger and stronger over the years. We just hope to be there at the top come the end of the season."
Duffy took his team back to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, finishing with an 8-8-3 overall record. There is plenty of talent returning as well. 20 players return from one season ago including, Alba Delgado, Felicia Frick and Selina Jud who all tied for the team lead with four goals each.
"It was fantastic to get back," Duffy said. "We've never taken that for granted. Being back in the tournament was an incredible opportunity for our players. We have a lot returning from that team. I'm hoping they have that taste for it now and that understanding that this is somewhere we want to be come mid-November.
Catawba received the most first place votes with nine to earn the top spot, followed by the reigning conference champions Lenoir-Rhyne, who secured the other three first-place votes with 102 points. Wingate finished seven points behind Lenoir-Rhyne in third place. All three of these squads made the national tournament this past season.
After C-N and Anderson, its Lincoln Memorial and Limestone at sixth and seventh, respectively, separated by just five points. Mars Hill secured 49 points, 14 behind seventh and 15 ahead of ninth place Newberry.
Tusculum, Coker and Emory & Henry round out the final three spots in the poll.
Carson-Newman begins its 2024 campaign on the road against Columbus State on September 5th. The match is set for a 2:00 p.m. start.
| Rank | School (First-Place Votes) | Score |
| 1 | Catawba | 119 |
| 2 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 109 |
| 3 | Wingate | 102 |
| t-4 | Carson-Newman | 87 |
| t-4 | Anderson | 87 |
| 6 | Lincoln Memorial | 68 |
| 7 | Limestone | 63 |
| 8 | Mars Hill | 49 |
| 9 | Newberry | 34 |
| 10 | Tusculum | 32 |
| 11 | Coker | 30 |
| 12 | Emory & Henry | 12 |
