WOMEN'S SOCCER TABBED SEVENTH IN PRE-SEASON POLL

August 17, 2011

WOMEN'S SOCCER TABBED SEVENTH IN PRE-SEASON POLL

New Haven, CT (8/17/2011) Wilmington University has been selected first according to the 2011 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll. The voting was conducted by the conference’s 13 head coaches. The Wildcats, who won a regular-season championship last season with a 12-0 record, picked up six first-place votes and 158 total points. Defending CACC Tournament champion Georgian Court University finished second with 142 points and two first-place tallies, while Philadelphia University collected 137 points and one first-place nod.

New Haven, CT (8/17/2011) Wilmington University has been selected first according to the 2011 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Soccer Preseason Poll. The voting was conducted by the conference's 13 head coaches. The Wildcats, who won a regular-season championship last season with a 12-0 record, picked up six first-place votes and 158 total points. Defending CACC Tournament champion Georgian Court University finished second with 142 points and two first-place tallies, while Philadelphia University collected 137 points and one first-place nod.

Wilmington went 15-5 overall and 12-0 in conference play last season before falling to Holy Family University in the CACC Tournament semi-finals. The Wildcats return four All-Conference players, including junior All-Region selection, forward Brittany Rhodes, who tied for fifth place in the conference with 24 points and tied for seventh with 10 goals scored. Also back are All-CACC defenders Alli Williams and Kory Webster and forward Molly Taylor. Taylor ranked third on the team last year with 14 points and second with seven goals.

Georgian Court is the defending CACC Tournament Champion after claiming the title as the No. 6 seed last year. GCU (11-9-2/6-5-1) welcomes back the 2010 CACC Player of the Year, senior forward Kelly Lyons, who paced the CACC with 38 points, 18 goals and eight game-winning goals. The two-time All-American is already the all-time leading scorer in the DII-era of the school. Also back for the Lions is sophomore defender Denisha Thomas, who was an All-Region and first team All-Conference selection last season. Senior goalkeeper Shealyn Sullivan is also back after being named CACC Tournament MVP in 2010. She led the CACC in saves (142) and shutouts (7) last season.

Philadelphia fell to Georgian Court in the first round of the CACC Tournament last season after going 9-3 in conference play and 9-7-3 overall. The Rams return second team All-CACC midfielder Janine Cascio, who paced the team last season with 18 points on eight goals and two assists, while junior Trisha Sileo was next with 12 points behind five goals and two assists. Also returning is sophomore goalie Kelli Kowalewski, who tied for fifth in the CACC last season with a 1.33 goals-against average.

Chestnut Hill College and Holy Family tied for the fourth spot in the poll with 135 points each, only two points behind Philadelphia. Holy Family advanced to the CACC Tournament title game last season, but fell short of back-to-back championships with a 2-1 loss to GCU. Holy Family returns its top three scorers from a year ago, including All-CACC selections Lindsay Fisher and Megan Tole. Last season, Tole tied for the team lead in goals with Dawn Curry, as both players netted 13 goals to rank third in the conference. Curry and Tole stood third and fourth in the conference in points with 31 and 29, respectively. Furthermore, Fisher tied for fourth in the conference with six assists.

Chestnut Hill enjoyed its finest season since joining the CACC in 2007 by compiling a 10-1-1 conference record and a 14-4-1 overall mark. The Griffins were the No. 2 seed in the CACC Tournament, but were upended by eventual champ, Georgian Court, in a tight 2-1 semi-final match. CHC returns the 2010 CACC Rookie of the Year, Carly DiGiovanni, and first team All-Conference picks Lauren Riiff, Lauren Brown and goalkeeper Jessica Veazey. Veazey ranked among the CACC's top five goalkeepers in saves (5^th, 97), save percentage (3^rd, .874), shutouts (T-2nd, 5), and goals-against-average (2^nd, 0.77). The squad will be guided by first-year head coach, Sandy Dickson.

The 2011 CACC preseason poll is listed below.

CACC Women's Soccer

2011 Preseason Poll

	School	2010 Records	Points
1.	Wilmington (6)	15-5/12-0 CACC	158
2.	Georgian Court (2)	11-9-2/6-5-1	142
3.	Philadelphia (1)	9-7-3/9-3	137
T4.	Chestnut Hill (3)	14-4-2/10-1-1	135
T4.	Holy Family (1)	13-6-1/8-3-1	135
6.	Caldwell	10-8/8-4	98
7.	Dominican	9-8/6-6	92
8.	Felician	7-11/6-6	73
9.	Nyack	5-12/4-8	61
10.	Bloomfield	4-12-1/0-11-1	49
11.	Post	4-13-1/4-7-1	43
12.	Goldey-Beacom	2-12-1/1-10-1	35
13.	Concordia	2-15/1-11	24

()-First Place Votes

The aim of Dominican University New York is to promote educational excellence, leadership, and service in an environment characterized by respect for the individual and concern for the community and its needs. Founded by the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, the university is an independent institution of higher learning, Catholic in origin and heritage. In the Dominican tradition, it fosters the active, shared pursuit of truth and embodies an ideal of education rooted in the values of reflective understanding and compassionate involvement. Committed to building its programs upon a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, the university maintains a student-centered climate and serves a diverse community of students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The university empowers this community of learners to excel, lead and serve with integrity and to engage responsibly in the pursuit of a more just, ethical and sustainable world. Dominican also sponsors 18 varsity intercollegiate sports that compete at the NCAA Division II level. To learn more about Dominican University New York, please visit www.duny.edu.