BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's soccer team has been picked to finish in third place in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) standings as the 2021 MASCAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll was released today by conference director of media relations, Emily Loux.

The Bears received 35 points in the conference poll to finish in a third place tie with Salem State University. 2019 MASCAC regular season champion Westfield State University is the preseason favorite to capture the conference title as the Owls recorded 49 points including eight first place votes. 2019 MASCAC Tournament champion Worcester State University finished second in the poll with 41 points and one first place vote.

Under the guidance of head coach Yasmina Carvalho (8th Year), the Bridgewater State women's soccer team will return to the pitch for the first time since 2019. The Bears finished in fourth place in a tightly contest 2019 MASCAC race with a 5-2 conference mark (12-9 overall).

Returning All-MASCAC selections Cassie Brown (Augusta, Maine) and Samantha Tomaszewski (Sterling, Mass.) will help lead the Bears in 2021 along with 2018 MASCAC Rookie of the Year Delaney Langton (Scituate, R.I.). The trio appeared in all 21 games in 2019 and combined for four goals and five assists.

Bridgewater State will open the season on Saturday, September 4th when the Bears travel to MIT for a four o'clock game with the Engineers. BSU's home opener is slated for Thursday, September 9th at seven o'clock against Wheaton College, while the MASCAC schedule gets underway on Saturday, September 18th (11:00 AM) when the Bears welcome Salem State to Swenson Field.