INDIANAPOLIS – Bellarmine University has been unanimously voted by the league coaches to win the 2012 Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Soccer Championship, it was announced by the conference office Friday.
The Knights, garnering 225 total points and 15 first-place votes, are coming off a school-record 16 wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance, which was just their second trip in school history. Bellarmine boasted four All-GLVC honorees last year, including second-team goalkeeper Amy Kunowski and third-team forward Abby Janszen, who return for their senior and sophomore seasons, respectively. The 2011 GLVC Champions will once again be under the guidance of Jonathan Velotta, the 2011 GLVC Coach of the Year.
Quincy University is ranked second in the poll having accumulated 205 total points, while the University of Wisconsin-Parkside is third with 191 points, followed by Rockhurst University in fourth with 181 points. The University of Indianapolis and University of Southern Indiana tied for fifth in the poll with 153 points each.
Seventh place in the poll belongs to Drury University (147), followed by Lewis University (128), University of Missouri-St. Louis (121) and William Jewell College (106) in the top 10.
Rounding out the preseason poll in the final six spots are Missouri S&T (84), McKendree University (63), Maryville University (56), University of Illinois Springfield (50), Saint Joseph’s College (29) and Kentucky Wesleyan College (28).
The 16 GLVC men’s soccer teams will compete in a 15-game round robin schedule during the regular season with the top eight teams earning a berth to the GLVC Championship Tournament. The top four seeds will host quarterfinal matches on campus on Oct. 28 with the four remaining teams heading to the top remaining seed site for the semifinals and final on Nov. 2 and 4.
The 2012 regular season will open on Aug. 30 with conference play set to start on Sept. 7.
The complete 2012 GLVC Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll follows:
2012 Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll – Page 2 of 2
Team (First-place votes) Total Points
|
1. |
BELLARMINE (15)# |
225 |
|
2. |
Quincy (1) |
205 |
|
3. |
UW-Parkside |
191 |
|
4. |
Rockhurst |
181 |
|
5. |
Indianapolis |
153 |
|
|
Southern Indiana |
153 |
|
7. |
Drury |
147 |
|
8. |
Lewis |
128 |
|
9. |
Missouri-St. Louis |
121 |
|
10. |
William Jewell |
106 |
|
11. |
Missouri S&T |
84 |
|
12. |
McKendree* |
63 |
|
13. |
Maryville |
56 |
|
14. |
Illinois Springfield |
50 |
|
15. |
Saint Joseph’s |
29 |
|
16. |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
28 |
Unanimous Selection in ALL CAPS. #Conference bylaws prohibit a team voting for itself.
*Not eligible for GLVC Tournament