Big East Conference

Georgetown Is #BIGEASTwsoc Preseason Favorite

8/9/2018 1:58:06 PM

The Hoyas’ Meaghan Nally and Arielle Schechtman earn major awards, along with Butler’s Paige Monaghan.

NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference unveiled the 2018 Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll with back-to-back league champion Georgetown the overwhelming favorite. The Hoyas earned all nine possible first-place votes and took home two of the three preseason major awards – BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Meaghan Nally and Goalkeeper of the Year Arielle Schechtman. Reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Paige Monaghan of Butler won the preseason recognition by unanimous vote. The BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll, major awards and all-conference selections are based on ballots cast by the league’s 10 head coaches, who cannot vote for their own teams or student-athletes.
 
Following Georgetown’s 81 points in the poll was 2017 BIG EAST Championship runner-up Butler with 72 points and the lone remaining first-place vote. Marquette followed in third with 59 points, Providence in fourth (55 points) and DePaul rounded out the top five (52 points). St. John’s landed sixth with 38 points, followed by Xavier (seventh, 34 points), Villanova (eighth, 31), Creighton (ninth, 18) and Seton Hall (10^th, 10).
 
Georgetown won its second consecutive BIG EAST Championship last season after claiming its first regular-season title since conference realignment. The Hoyas posted a 6-1-2 BIG EAST record and finished 14-3-4 overall following their sixth consecutive NCAA Championship berth. Georgetown enters the 2018 campaign ranked 22^nd in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll and finished 2017 listed 24^th.
 
In 2017, Georgetown boasted the stingiest defense in the BIG EAST since 2012, allowing just two goals over nine league contests for a 0.21 goals against average. The Hoyas defense will be led this season by Schechtman and Nally. Schechtman was voted BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year in 2017, earning all six BIG EAST wins in shutout fashion while also blanking Butler in a scoreless draw for seven clean sheets during the league slate. On a national level, her 17 total shutouts led all Division I goalkeepers, while her GAA (0.32) listed fifth. Nally started 20 of 21 games for Georgetown last year and will be among the most experienced on the Hoyas’ back line. GU limited its conference foes to an average of just 1.4 shots on goal per game in 2017, with the Hoyas outshooting their nine league opponents by an average 5:1 margin. Schechtman and Nally were joined by fellow Hoyas Amanda Carolan and Caitlin Farrell on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Carolan and Farrell combined for 17 goals and five assists overall last season and are Georgetown’s top returning scorers following the graduation of All-American Rachel Corboz.
 
Monaghan and Butler both enjoyed breakout years in 2017. The Bulldogs earned their first NCAA Championship at-large berth in program history, their first national ranking since 1996 and their highest BIG EAST regular-season finish since joining the conference in 2013. Over nine BIG EAST games, Monaghan led the league in shots (33), points (18), goals (8) and game-winning goals (3). She was the uncontested pick as last season’s Offensive Player of the Year. Butler, which made its second BIG EAST final appearance in three years, boasts two of the top returning goalkeepers in the BIG EAST in Hannah Luedtke and Leonie Doege, while defender Annika Schmidt joined Monaghan on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Butler is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll.
 
Marquette made a BIG EAST Championship Semifinal appearance for the fifth time in the last six seasons before finishing 2017 with a 13-7-1 overall record and 5-4-0 mark in conference play. After opening non-conference play 7-1-1, MU earned its first national ranking since 2014, coming in at No. 19.  The Golden Eagles will be led this season by unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Carrie Madden, who scored five goals in eight league tilts last year.  
 
Providence earned its highest league finish in BIG EAST history after going 5-3-1 and placing third. The Friars reached double-digit overall wins for the third consecutive season, going 10-8-2 after bowing out in the BIG EAST Championship Semifinals. PC saw two players earn Preseason All-BIG EAST honors in defender Katie Day and midfielder Kayla Steeves. Day had six points off two goals and two assists in 20 starts last year, while Steeves started 19 of 20 games and posted a team-best .583 shot-on-goal percentage.
 
Franny Cerny was unanimously selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team and will lead a DePaul squad which qualified for the BIG EAST Championship for the sixth consecutive year in 2017. The Blue Demons went 7-7-5 overall and 3-2-4 in BIG EAST play, with Cerny finishing conference play ranked in the top three in shots (30), points (11) and goals (5).
 
St. John’s will look to return to the postseason in 2018 after missing the cut in 2017. The Red Storm finished seventh in the standings at 4-5-0 and went 8-9-1 overall. Preseason All-BIG EAST honoree Christina Bellero is St. John’s top offensive threat this season after totaling seven goals, three assists and 17 points over 18 games in 2017. Three of Bellero’s goals were game winners. 
 
Xavier wasted no time excelling under first-year head coach Nate Lie last season, earning its first BIG EAST Championship berth and highest conference finish since joining the league in 2013. The Musketeers went 4-3-2 in the BIG EAST for 14 points, more than the previous three seasons combined. Forward Samantha Dewey was voted to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Dewey missed all of BIG EAST play last season due to injury, but scored three goals in six early season non-conference matches before being sidelined.
 
Villanova went 6-12-0 overall and 2-7-0 in BIG EAST play a season ago, with eight of those losses being by just one goal. The Wildcats will look to turn the corner this year and return their No. 2 scorer in Kristin Barbour. Barbour posted three goals, six assists and 12 points last season, burying all three of her penalty kick opportunities.
 
Creighton returns its top two scorers from a year ago, highlighted by Taryn Jakubowski. The junior midfielder totaled five goals, including a pair of game winners, and an assist. The Bluejays went 4-11-3 overall and 2-5-2 in BIG EAST play.
 
Seton Hall (0-12-5, 0-6-3 BIG EAST) returns the bulk of its scoring from a season ago, including team-leader Julia Stirpe who posted two goals and an assist. The Pirates split time between a pair of goalkeepers in 2017 with Anna MacLean returning for her senior season in 2018 after earning 10 starts a year ago.