Belmont Abbey Tops 2015 Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Belmont Abbey Crusaders have been voted the preseason favorites to win the 2015 Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Championship, the league announced today. Belmont Abbey received four of 10 first-place votes and 74 points from the conference’s coaches.
The Crusaders, who went 12-7-2 overall and 8-3-0 in conference play, won the 2014 Conference Carolinas Tournament title and earned the conference’s only bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
Converse and Pfeiffer tied for second, with each receiving two first-place votes and 65 total points.
The Valkyries won the Conference Carolinas regular season title in 2014 after posting a program-best 15-3-1 overall record and 9-1-1 conference mark.
The Falcons wrapped up 2014 with a 12-7-2 overall record and 8-2-1 Conference Carolinas record and made an appearance in the tournament championship game.
Limestone came in at fourth with one first-place vote and 63 points, while King received the final first-place vote and 53 points to place fifth.
The Saints, who were the 2014 regular season runner-up, posted a 10-4-3 overall mark and 8-1-2 Conference Carolinas record. The Tornado turned in a 10-8-0 overall record and 7-4-0 conference mark in 2014.
Lees-McRae was tabbed sixth with 38 points, ahead of Barton who landed seventh with 37 points.
The Bobcats finished 2014 7-11-1 overall and 5-5-1 in conference action, while Barton closed out the year 11-5-2 overall and 6-4-1 in Conference Carolinas play.
Mount Olive came in eighth with 29 points, while North Greenville (16 points) and Erskine (10 points) rounded out the preseason poll at ninth and 10th, respectively.
The Trojans went 6-12-1 overall and 4-6-1 on conference play. The Crusaders went 2-13-1 overall and 2-8-1 in Conference Carolinas play. The Flying Fleet wrapped up its 2014 season with a 3-13-1 overall record and 2-9-0 conference mark.
The 2015 Conference Carolinas women’s soccer season begins on Thursday, Sept. 3.
2015 Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Belmont Abbey (4) |
74 |
| T2. Converse (2) |
65 |
| T2. Pfeiffer (2) |
65 |
| 4. Limestone (1) |
63 |
| 5. King (1) |
53 |
| 6. Lees-McRae |
38 |
| 7. Barton |
37 |
| 8. Mount Olive |
29 |
| 9. North Greenville |
16 |
| 10. Erskine |
10 |
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-Mcrae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan. Emmanuel College and Southern Wesleyan University are currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.