BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University Bears have been picked to finish third in the 2013 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women’s soccer standings in a vote of the league’s coaches.  The MASCAC Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll was announced by MASCAC Director of Media Relations, Emily Diekelmann.

Westfield State, the conference’s regular season and tournament champion last fall, was unanimously voted to repeat with 64 points. Landing in second place was Worcester State with a total of 54 points. Bridgewater State notched 48 points in the voting to earn the third spot, while Salem State and Framingham State follow in fourth and fifth place with 40 and 31 points, respectively. MCLA is slated to finish sixth place with 25 points. Fitchburg State and Massachusetts Maritime round out the poll in seventh and eighth place with 18 and eight points, respectively.

Head Coach Lou Verrochi begins his fourth season at the helm of the BSU women's soccer team.  Verrochi has directed his teams to an overall record of 26-26-6 (.500) over his first three seasons including a 13-6-2 (.667) MASCAC regular season mark.

Coach Verrochi will look to returning All-MASCAC selections, sophomores MaryRose Griffin (Whitman, Mass.) and Mackenzie Hatfield (Whitman, Mass.) and senior Megan O’Leary (Whitman, Mass.), to lead his squad into the 2013 campaign.

Griffin started all 21 games as a rookie for the Bears as she anchored a BSU defensive unit that posted nine shutouts and a 1.25 goals against average.  The nine shutouts marked the most in a season since the 1993 squad recorded ten.  Griffin also tallied a pair of goals on the year and finished with four points.

O'Leary played in all 21 games and made 20 starts as she tied for second on the team in assists with five.  In 38 games, including 37 starts, over her first two seasons with the Bears, O'Leary has registered one goal and six assists for eight points.

Hatfield also started all 21 games in her first collegiate campaign. She led the team in scoring with 23 points on eight goals and seven assists.  The eight goals were the most in a season for a Bridgewater State freshman since Michelle Rhodes notched ten in 2001.  Hatfield ranked sixth in the MASCAC in scoring and tied for fifth in assists and tied for seventh in goals.

The Bridgewater State women’s soccer team will open the 2013 campaign on Tuesday night, September 3rd as the Bears travel to regional rival Babson College for four o’clock game with the Beavers.  The MASCAC opener is slated for Saturday, September 21st when the Bears host Framingham State at noon.

Last season, the Bears posted an overall record of 9-9-3 including a 4-2-1 mark in league play. Seeded third in the MASCAC Tournament, Bridgewater blanked MCLA 4-0 in the quarterfinals and advanced to the conference championship game on penalty kicks in a 0-0 double overtime tie at Worcester State in the semifinals.  The Bears dropped a 2-0 decision to Westfield State in the MASCAC title game.