Women’s Soccer Picked Third in UAA Preseason Coaches Poll
St. Louis, Mo., August 15, 2011 — The Washington University in St. Louis women’s soccer team was picked third in the 2011 University Athletic Association (UAA) Preseason Conference Coaches’ Poll, as announced Monday by the conference office.
Defending conference champion University of Chicago and Emory University were selected to share the UAA championship. The Maroons posted a 6-1 Association record to claim the 2010 title and earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship, while Emory was second a year ago with a 4-1-2 mark.
Chicago and Emory each received four first-place votes to sit atop the poll, while Washington University and the University of Rochester tied for third. Brandeis University, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University and New York University rounded out the poll.
Fourth-year head coach Jim Conlon returns 23 letterwinners and 10 starters from last year’s team, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Bears posted an 11-8-2 overall record, and tied for fourth in the UAA with a 3-2-2 mark.
A pair of All-Central Region selections in seniors Emma Brown and Lee Ann Felder lead Washington U. into the 2011 season. Brown, a first-team all-UAA honoree led the team in scoring with five goals and four assists for 14 points. Felder, who joined Brown on the all-UAA first-team, started all 21 games for the Bears in the midfield, scoring four goals with three assists for 11 points.
Junior goalkeeper Clara Jaques and junior back Nicole Martin earned second-team all-UAA honors a year ago, and anchored a defense that allowed 18 goals in 21 games played. Sophomore midfielder Kate Doyle returns after starting 17 games as a freshman when she earned honorable-mention all-UAA honors.
Also returning for the Bears are senior back Alyssa Marulli (21 starts), sophomore back Darcy Banco (19 starts), junior midfielder Emily Gosché (14 starts, three goals), sophomore forward Becky Berels (12 starts, three goals) and junior midfielder Lauren Clatch (11 starts).
The Bears open up the 2011 season at home on Sept. 1, at 7:30 p.m., against Missouri Baptist University, and will take on six teams ranked in the NSCAA Preseason Top-25 Poll.