St. Scholastica narrowly tops UMAC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll

8/28/2017 1:40:17 AM

ST. PAUL, Minn.---For the first time since 2003, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) saw its first new outright regular season champion as Northland College went 7-0-1 to take the title a year ago. However, by a narrow margin, the UMAC coaches predict the College of St. Scholastica will regain the conference title in 2017 as the Saints topped the Preseason Coaches Poll announced Monday.

Taking second last season, the Saints are expected to rebound as they claimed 58 points and four first place votes in the polls. The 2016 tournament champion University of Minnesota Morris wasn't far behind, though, pulling in 55 votes and three first place nods while reigning champion Northland was third with 54 points and two first-place selections.

| Poll | Matchups | Team Previews |

After tying the LumberJills to start the season last year, the Saints won their next five games and looked as if they could have a fighting chance at tying for the title. Unfortunately, they suffered a setback in falling to Bethany Lutheran College and tying Martin Luther College to finish second in the standings and missed out on their first share of a title in 13 seasons. Their chances at a rematch with Northland were also stifled by Minnesota Morris in the semifinal round of the UMAC postseason as they fell in penalty kicks.

This season, the Saints will likely return with vengeance and bring back a ton of talent that should position the squad to make a run at taking back their conference crown. They will be led by All-UMAC forward Taylor Olson who was a top-10 point scorer in conference games and led the league in assists with five. They also bring back All-UMAC selections Hannah Zeis and Cali Marsaa – who helped the Saints record four shutouts in just her 14 games played as a defender. Roni Rudolph will also be back as one of the league's top keepers as a rookie in 2016.

The road to winning back a conference title won't be easy for St. Scholastica with a Minnesota Morris squad that brings back two of the top players from 2016 in Molly Hancuh and Yu Ito. The Cougars shocked the conference making their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance last season thanks to the stellar play of this duo. In conference games, Hancuh and Ito combined for 47 points and four game-winning goals. Hancuh was the lone conference player to record double-digits in goals (13) in league play averaging over four per game. The Cougars will need to find a replacement for Defensive Player of the Year and Tournament MVP Torri Jordan if they want a shot at the title.

Northland will be out to prove their title wasn't a fluke, but will have to do it without Offensive Player of the Year Madeleine Wieland. Fortunately, 2016 Coach of the Year Justin Sexton welcomes back Kaiya Voldberg who had 19 points in conference play and tallied a league-best five game-winners. The LumberJills also bring back All-UMAC defenders Gretchen Hamernick-Winters and Harley Kinney who nabbed the Rookie of the Year honor last season.

The University of Northwestern is positioned for another postseason appearance with 47 points for fourth in the polls. The Eagles return All-UMAC Second Team honorees Emily Goeppinger and Anna Hitterdahl who should lead an offense that scored over two goals per game last season.

Bethany Lutheran will look to make a postseason appearance after finishing fifth despite having a chance at the title in the final weekend of the season. The Vikings pulled in 35 points for fifth in the poll and will rely on All-UMAC Second Team pick Nicole Molstad and Honorable Mention keeper Averi Cash.

Martin Luther and the University of Wisconsin-Superior tied for sixth in the poll with 24 points each. The Knights will look to make the postseason with the return of Second Team honoree Emily Muir, while the Yellowjackets will also look for steady improvement under new Head Coach Allison DeGroot.

Crown College and North Central University rounded out the polls with 14 and 13 points, respectively. The Storm bring back Honorable Mentions Anna Kragt and Katelyn Carter, while the Rams have Second Team scorer Dakotah Sparrman.

The opening week-plus of the 2017 season will see UMAC squads face off against some of the top regional competition around before kicking off a new conference slate this season – each team will play 12 conference contests this season meaning some teams will play twice with games counting toward the standings.

Conference games begin Sept. 13 with a postseason rematch between Northwestern and Bethany Lutheran. The opening week continues with excitement as St. Scholastica will seek revenge against the Vikings on Sept .16 before facing off against Northland on Sept.19. Northwestern and Minnesota Morris will also meet in a top five matchup that day.

Sept. 23 will see two big matchups as the Saints and Cougars face off, while Bethany Lutheran will look to upend champion Northland. October will feature a rematch of a critical game from last season between Martin Luther and St. Scholastica. The final two weeks of the season will see repeat matches for St. Scholastica against Bethany Lutheran and Minnesota Morris which could have impact on all three teams' chances at the title.

Complete Schedule

2017 UMAC Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll
1. St. Scholastica – 58 points (4 First Place Votes)
2. Minnesota Morris– 55 points (3 First Place Vote)
3. Northland – 54 points (2 First Place Vote)
4. Northwestern – 47 points
5. Bethany Lutheran – 35 points
T-6. Martin Luther – 24 points
T-6. Wisconsin-Superior – 24 points
8. Crown – 14 points
9. North Central – 13 points

TEAM PREVIEWS
| BLC | CC | CSS | MLC | NC | NCU | UMM | UNW | UWS |

Bethany Lutheran College
Derick Lyngholm | 11th Season|

2016 Season
4-3-1 UMAC, 10-10-2 | 5th |
Postseason: Lost to #1 Northland in overtime of the UMAC Semifinals. Beat Northwestern 2-1 in the first round of the postseason tournament.

Top Returners
- Nicole Moldstad, Sr., M | 3x All-UMAC Second Team | #2 on BLC career scoring list |11G, 8A, 30 Pts
- Averi Cash, Sr., GK | All-UMAC HM | 2x UMAC Defensive POW | 5 shutouts & 1.38 GAA
- Sarah Paul, Jr., D | All- UMAC 2nd Team | Lead a defense that registered 8 shutouts

Need to Know
- 2017 marks the 20^th anniversary of BLC women’s soccer
- In the past seven seasons, the Vikings have played 7 UMAC postseason contests. Six of those seven contests have gone to overtime or a shootout.

The College of St. Scholastica
Dave Reyelts | 18th Season |

2016 Season
5-1-2 UMAC, 7-9-4 | 2nd |
Postseason: Lost to Minnesota Morris in a penalty kick shootout in the UMAC Tournament semifinals

Top Returners
- Hannah Zeis, Jr., MF | 2016 First Team All-UMAC| Started 19 Games, 2 Goals, 2 Assists |
- Taylor Olson, Sr., F | 2016 First Team All-UMAC | 7 Goals, 5 Assists, Played only 16 Games |
- Cali Marsaa, Sr., D | 2016 First Team All-UMAC; 2015 Honorable Mention All-UMAC | Played in only 14 Games, Helped team record four shutouts |

Need to Know
The Saints had three non-wins (loss, tie) in conference play last season for the first time since the 2002 season.

Crown College
Jamison Ross | 7th Season |

2016 Season
1-7 UMAC, 3-14-2 | T-8th |

Top Returners
- Anna Kragt, So., F | UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention | 10 goals, .333 shot %, 16 shots on goal |
- Katelyn Carter, Jr., M | UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention | 3 goals, 2 assists, 14 shots on goal |
- Monika Russell, Sr., M | 16 starts, 1433 minutes, 17 games played |

Need to Know
Ended last season with a two game winning streak, with wins over Mount Mary and at Bethany Lutheran. Carter ended the season with a hat trick for her first three goals of the season.

University of Minnesota Morris
Dan Magner | 12th season |

2016 Season
5-2-1 UMAC record, 8-8-3 Overall record | 3rd |
Postseason: UMAC Tournament Champions – d. St. Scholastica on PKs in semis, d. Northland 2-0 in finals, lost to UW-Whitewater 3-0 in NCAAs.

Top Returners
- Molly Hancuh, Sr., MF | 2014 All-UMAC First Team, UMAC Rookie of Year, 2015 All-UMAC First Team, 2016 All-UMAC First Team | 2016 NSCAA All-Region Third Team | 41 points (18G, 5A), 5 GW, 0.281 SH pct. |
- Yu Ito, Jr., F/MF | 2015 All-UMAC First Team, UMAC Rookie of Year, 2016 All-UMAC First Team | 2016 NSCAA All-Region Third Team | 20 points (7G, 6A), 1 GW, 0.194 SH pct. |
- Juliet Batista, Sr., MF | 2015 All-UMAC First Team, 2016 All-UMAC Second Team |

Need to Know
Last season’s NCAA Tournament appearance was the first in program history.

University of Northwestern
Josh Pettit | 11th Season|

2016 Season
5-3 UMAC, 9-8 | 4th |
Postseason: Lost in first round UMAC playoffs vs. Bethany Lutheran

Top Returners
- Emily Goeppinger, Sr., F | UMAC All-Conference (2014, 2015, 2016) | Other Honors | Nine career goals scored, Four career game-winning goals, Sixth on team leaderboard for goals scored in 2016 (3)|
- Anna Hitterdal, Sr., M/F | UMAC All-Conference (2016), UMAC Academic All-Conference (2016, 2015, 2014 ) | CoSIDA Academic All-District (2016)| Eight career goals scored, Two career game-winning goals, Fifth on team leaderboard for goals scored in 2016 (3)|
- Linley Norman, So., F | UMAC All-Conference (2016) | Other Honors | Five career goals scored, Team leader in goals scored in 2016 (5)|
- Dana Lehtinen, So., D | UMAC All-Conference (2016), UMAC Player of the Week (x1) | Four career goals scored, Three career game-winning goals, Third on team leaderboard for goals scored in 2016 (4)|

Need to Know
All Yellowjacket wins over the last two years have come in conference play.

Schedule

Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

Conference Members

Conference Members

St. Scholastica narrowly tops UMAC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll