Limestone and Belmont Abbey Enter 2016 Tied to Win Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Championship
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Limestone College and Belmont Abbey College were both voted the preseason favorites to win the 2016 Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Championship, the league announced today. Limestone and Belmont Abbey each garnered 95 points, but the Saints notched six first-place votes while the Crusaders tallied five first-place votes from the conference’s coaches.
After turning in one of the best seasons in program history in 2015, the Saints enter 2016 poised to make another title run. Limestone posted a 16-4-0 overall record a season ago, which included a 10-1-0 Conference Carolinas mark. The Saints would earn a bid to the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship after capturing the program's first Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Championship in a 1-0 win over Belmont Abbey.
The Crusaders, who captured the 2015 Conference Carolinas regular season title, notched a 16-3-1 overall record and 11-0-0 Conference Carolinas mark. Belmont Abbey rattled off 13 straight wins during a stretch last season and only allowed six goals all year, but would fall to Limestone in the Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Championship final.
King University tallied 78 points from conference coaches to begin the season ranked third. The Tornado hosted its first-ever Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Championship tournament match last year after finishing 2015 with an overall record of 9-7-2 and 7-3-1 in conference action.
Converse College narrowly earned the fourth spot on the preseason poll after earning 66 points, while University of Mount Olive picked up 64 points to take fifth.
The Valkyries concluded 2015 with a Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Championship semifinals appearance after going 12-7-1 overall while posting a 7-4 conference mark. The Trojans capped 2015 at 9-6-2 overall and a 7-2-2 conference record.
Pfeiffer University's 55 points landed them at sixth in the preseason poll, followed by the tight race for seventh and eighth with North Greenville University and Lees-McRae College with 42 points and 41 points, respectively.
The Falcons, who were a semifinalist in the 2015 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Championship, turned in an 8-9-2 overall record and 5-5-1 conference mark. The Crusaders went 9-8-0 overall and 5-6-0 in Conference Carolinas play, while the Bobcats were 5-11-1 overall and 3-7-1 in conference in 2015.
Not far behind in ninth was Barton College with 39 points, while Erskine College and Southern Wesleyan University closed out the poll in 10th and 11th with 18 and 12 points, respectively.
The Bulldogs posted a 6-8-4 overall record and a 2-5-4 record in conference play. The Fleet managed a 1-15-1 overall record and 0-9-1 mark in conference and the Warriors were 2-15-1 and 0-10-1 in Conference Carolinas action.
The 2016 Conference Carolinas women’s soccer season begins on Thursday, Sept. 1.
2016 Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| T1. Limestone (6) |
95 |
| T1. Belmont Abbey (5) |
95 |
| 3. King |
78 |
| 4. Converse |
66 |
| 5. Mount Olive |
64 |
| 6. Pfeiffer |
55 |
| 7. North Greenville |
42 |
| 8. Lees-McRae |
41 |
| 9. Barton |
39 |
| 10. Erskine |
18 |
| 11. Southern Wesleyan |
12
|
2016 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Players to Watch:
Forwards (Year):
Taylor Doeble (Jr.) - Barton
Cierra Skyers (Sr.) - Belmont Abbey
Sara Dorsett (Jr.) - Converse
Ani-Miller Wells (Jr.) - Erskine
Miranda Smith (Jr.) - King
Megan O'Connor (So.) - Limestone
Brae Buster (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Grace Taylor (Sr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Midfielders (Year):
Kate Hennessy (So.) - Belmont Abbey
Nicole Doolittle (Jr.) - Converse
Eliza Denmeade (Fr.) - Erskine
Kayla Keiffer (Jr.) - Erskine
Kendyl Baird (Sr.) - King
Kara Garrett (So.) - King
Holly Rawcliffe (So.) - Limestone
Jocelyn Yurchak (Jr.) - Mount Olive
Megan Robertson (Sr.) - North Greenville
Macy Rutledge (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Beth Spence (Jr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Defenders (Year):
Regan Collins (Jr.) - Barton
Rachel Coutinho (So.) - Belmont Abbey
Rebecca Coutinho (So.) - Belmont Abbey
Ali Bowles (So.) - Limestone
Ashton Bowles (Jr.) - Limestone
Millie Shaw (So.) - Limestone
Lauren Cowley (Sr.) - Mount Olive
Tori Owens (Jr.) - North Greenville
Madeline Gadd (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Goalkeepers (Year):
Stephanie McCoy (Sr.) - Mount Olive
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 College, 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 University. Emmanuel College is currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.