Women's Soccer Picked Second in MASCAC Preseason Poll
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State College Bears have been picked to finish in second place in the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's soccer standings for the 2009 season. The MASCAC women's soccer preseason poll was released on Tuesday by MASCAC Director of Media Relations, Jim Seavey.
In a vote of the league's eight coaches, Bridgewater tallied 56 points to finish behind preseason favorite and reigning MASCAC Tournament champion, Westfield State. Bridgewater and Westfield tied for the conference regular season title last season. The Bears however dropped a 3-0 decision to the Owls in the postseason tournament title game.
Westfield received seven of the eighth first place votes and amassed a total of 63 points. Bridgewater, which received the other first place, was followed by Worcester State (45 points) and Salem State (38 points) to round out the top four.
|
Place |
|
Team |
|
Points |
|
1. |
|
Westfield State |
|
63 (7) |
|
2. |
|
Bridgewater State |
|
56 (1) |
|
3. |
|
Worcester State |
|
45 |
|
4. |
|
Salem State |
|
38 |
|
5. |
|
Fitchburg State |
|
32 |
|
6. |
|
MCLA |
|
28 |
|
7. |
|
Fitchburg State |
|
18 |
|
8. |
|
Mass. Maritime |
|
8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(First place votes in parentheses) | ||||
Head Coach Andrea Zeigler-O'Connor (11th Year) returns four starters from the 2008 squad led by First Team All-MASCAC defender, Yasmina Carvalho (Sr., Brockton, MA). Senior midfielders Christine Soucy (Rockland, MA) and Jacklyn Wisocky (Brockton, MA) and junior defender Amanda Vigneault (Ludlow, MA) also return to the Bears' starting lineup.
Soucy, Wisocky and fellow senior Ashley Hersey (Newburyport, MA) combined for 12 goals and 12 assists for 36 points last season. They will be asked to ignite the offense in 2009 especially with the loss of the team's top three scorers from a year ago.
Junior Kayla Grover (Haverhill, MA) provides solid goaltending for the Bears. Grover has started 19 games over her first two seasons, posting a 1.37 goals against average with 120 saves and a .816 save percentage.
Junior midfielder Kylie Beaton (Epsom, NH), who appeared in all 18 games last season with four starts, also returns to the mix. The Bears' lineup will also be bolstered by the arrival of junior transfer Alyson Johnson (Stamford, CT). Johnson comes to Bridgewater after playing two seasons at Division One Maine.