Thomasville, Belmont Abbey women's soccer has been selected the
top team going into the 2006 season. Carolinas-Virginia Athletics
Conference head coaches voted the Crusaders the top team in an
annual preseason poll to rank predicted order of finish within the
league.
The Crusaders selection comes upon good merit by
finishing the 2005 campaign with an 18-4 overall and 10-1 CVAC
record. With that they captured the CVAC tournament championship
and split the regular season title, all in head coach Glad
Bugariu's first season at the helm.
The Crusaders return 14 players off last year's squad,
including their top three scorers, headlined by junior forward Erin
Kolb, who scored a team-leading 14 goals en route to earning First
Team All-CVAC and All-Region honors. Also, Bugariu has brought in
13 talented newcomers to add to the solid core of returnees to help
the Abbey continue their winning ways.
New Pfeiffer Head Coach Sarah Denton leads ten
returning starters from last year's regular season CVAC conference
co-champions (10-1 in the CVAC, 14-5 overall). Led by junior
forward Laura Crews, who was the 2005 CVAC Player of the Year,
All-CVAC First Team and All-Region team member, and senior
midfielder Maria Reis, who was also an All-CVAC First Team member,
the Falcons hope to continue last year's success. Second Team
All-CVAC members junior Kristen Brahosky and sophomore Katie Franca
will secure the Falcon defense. Coach Denton added, "I am very
happy to be here at Pfeiffer. I hope with hard work and dedication
we can continue to build on last season's success. It should be a
very exciting year."
The Barton College women's soccer team has high
expectations for the 2006 season after finishing third in the CVAC
at 9-2 and posting a 14-5 overall record last fall. The Lady
Bulldogs, of fourth-year head coach Stacey Tant, achieved rankings
of first in the Southeast Region and tenth nationally and won nine
games straight at one point. Back from that squad are All-CVAC
first-teamers Jordan Carter in the midfield and Tara Davis at
forward. Both were second-team All-Region selections as well.
Anchoring the defense will be returning All-CVAC second team
performer Stephanie Schraw. That trio will be joined by 11
returnees and a talented cast of eight newcomers.
Rounding out the poll 4-12 was: Mount Olive, Limestone,
Queens, Erskine, Coker, Lees-McRae, Anderson, Converse, and St.
Andrews respectively.
CVAC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll (# of First Place Votes in
Parenthesis)
1. Belmont
Abbey (8)
116
2.
Pfieffer
(3) 112
3.
Barton
97
4. Mount
Olive
(1) 96
5.
Limestone
79
6.
Queens
69
7.
Erskine
61
8.
Coker
44
9.
Lees-McRae
37
10.
Anderson
35
11.
Converse
27
12. St.
Andrews
19
