Senior forward Meagan Elliott led Stonehill with 16 points on six goals and four assists last season. |
Skyhawks aiming for second consecutive postseason appearance
NE-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll Announcement
EASTON, Mass. (August 25, 2015) – Stonehill College has been picked to finish 13th in the Northeast-10 Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released today by the league office.
Stonehill received 77 total points, finishing directly behind No. 12 Le Moyne College (84) and No. 11 the University of New Haven (85) in a vote of the NE-10's 15 head coaches. Just 13 points separate the Skyhawks from the No. 8 team in the poll, Saint Anselm College (90), while Merrimack College (88) and Pace University (87) are slotted ninth and tenth, respectively.
Two-time defending NE-10 champion The College of Saint Rose, which has captured seven of the last eight conference crowns, was voted as the favorite with 195 points and 13 of the 15 first place tallies. Assumption College (171) and Adelphi University (163) followed in second and third, respectively, receiving one first-place vote each. Rounding out the top-five in the poll are Franklin Pierce University (149) and Southern Connecticut State University (148).
Stonehill, which was picked to finish 11th last fall, posted a record of 8-8-2 (6-6-2 NE-10) in 2014, good for eighth place in the final conference standings and the program's first NE-10 Tournament appearance since 2011. The Skyhawks started the season strong, winning their first four matches en route to a 6-1-1 record, before posting a 2-7-1 mark over the final ten contests.
Junior back Claire O'Brien has started each of Stonehill's 36 matches over the past two seasons. |
Despite losing nine seniors to graduation, Stonehill returns all three of its All-NE-10 performers and four of its top six point scorers from a season ago. Junior back Claire O'Brien (West Hartford, Connecticut/Hall), who has started each of Stonehill's 36 matches over the past two seasons, earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Continental Tire All-East Region third team honors in 2014 to go with New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association All-New England and All-NE-10 second team accolades. O'Brien anchored a defensive unit that posted a 1.15 goals against average and five shutouts while also expanding her offensive game with five points on two goals and one assist.
Junior midfielder Hannah Fay (Tolland, Connecticut/Tolland) also totaled five points last season and garnered both NEWISA All-New England second team and All-NE-10 third team recognition, while senior forward Meagan Elliott (Norton, Massachusetts/Norton) returns after leading the Skyhawks with 16 points on six goals and four assists last fall.
Also back is junior forward Lauren Kapatoes (Hopedale, Massachusetts/Hopedale), who ranked second on the team with four goals in 2014, and junior goalkeeper Jamie Block (Georgetown, Massachusetts/Georgetown), who started 17 matches, recording a 1.25 goals against average with four clean sheets. Head coach Alex Wilson, who is entering her third season at the helm of her alma mater, recently named Block, O'Brien and Elliott as captains for the 2015 campaign.
Stonehill, which will host the 2015 Catholic Cup at Skyhawk Field, opens its season next Friday, September 4th at 4 p.m. against Saint Michael's College. Following next weekend's action, the Skyhawks hit the road for matches at Molloy College and LIU Post before returning home on Wednesday, September 16th to open NE-10 play against Franklin Pierce University.
2015 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Saint Rose - 195 (13)
2. Assumption - 171 (1)
3. Adelphi - 163 (1)
4. Franklin Pierce - 149
5. So. Connecticut - 148
6. American Int'l - 98
7. So. New Hampshire - 94
8. Saint Anselm - 90
9. Merrimack - 88
10. Pace - 87
11. New Haven - 85
12. Le Moyne - 84
13. Stonehill - 77
14. Saint Michael's - 29
15. Bentley - 17
(#) – indicates first-place votes
