Players Mentioned
Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
8/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Seton Hall women's soccer team has been selected to finish seventh in the BIG EAST Conference according to the preseason coaches' poll released by the league office on Wednesday afternoon.
Entering their first campaign under the direction of new head coach Rick Stainton, the Pirates are coming off a season in which they finished just one point shy of advancing to the BIG EAST Tournament in the first year of a new-look conference.
Stainton returns to the bench in South Orange where he previously served two years as an assistant coach under his predecessor Kazbek Tambi following a successful stint as the head man at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
In his lone season in Teaneck, Stainton led a Knights squad that was pegged to finish eighth in the Northeast Conference to an 8-8-4 record that included a 4-1-3 mark in league play and the #2 seed in the conference tournament.
As the third head coach in the 21-year history of the program, Stainton assumes the reins of a team that posted a 5-11-2 overall record a year ago and finished with a 3-6-0 mark against league opposition. The Hall once again excelled at Owen T. Carroll Field however, amassing a 5-2-2 mark that included victories over then-#25 Butler and a 5-0 shutout on Senior Day over a Villanova side that was tabbed to be among the top-three teams in the conference prior to the year.
Gone are the seven seniors who were honored prior to the contest with the Wildcats - including 2013 All-BIG EAST performers Ashley Clarke (First Team), Jennifer Pettigrew (Third Team) and Katie Ritter (Third Team) - but the Pirates' roster boasts a collection of experienced players and six newcomers who will look to help usher in a new era.
Senior Kristina Meier (Paramus, N.J.) leads a group of five returnees who appeared in all 18 matches last season. Juniors Melissa Blevins (Laurel Springs, N.J.) and D'Yonna Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.) also saw action in each contest, combining with Third Team All-BIG EAST selection Cathy Chukuka (Marlboro, N.J.) to steady a back line that limited conference foes to just nine total goals.
Sophomores Sarah Cortes (Paramus, N.J.) and Frankie Maier (Oradell, N.J.) rank as the team's top returning scorers after excelling in their debut seasons in blue & white. Cortes tallied five of her six points in BIG EAST play, highlighted by the game-winning strike in a 1-0 win over Providence. Maier proved to be a key presence in the midfield for The Hall, picking up four points in a pair of Seton Hall wins.
Like Meier, Blevins and Riley, both Cortes and Maier played a part in each one of the Pirates' 18 outings in 2013.
Reigning conference champions Marquette has been chosen as the favorite to capture the 2014 BIG EAST women's soccer regular-season crown.
Two St. John's representatives received individual preseason honors as junior Rachel Daly was named BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, and senior Georgia Kearney-Perry took Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors.
DePaul junior Alejandria Godinez was chosen as Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
The Preseason All-BIG EAST Team also was announced.
Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.
2014 BIG EAST Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
| 1 | Marquette (9)* | 81 |
| 2 | Georgetown (1) | 72 |
| 3 | St. John's | 64 |
| 4 | DePaul | 56 |
| 5 | Butler | 48 |
| 6 | Villanova | 42 |
| 7 | SETON HALL | 27 |
| 8 | Creighton | 24 |
| 9 | Providence | 22 |
| 10 | Xavier | 14 |
2014 BIG EAST Women's Soccer Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year - Rachel Daly, St. John's
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year - Georgia Kearney-Perry, St. John's
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year - Alejandria Godinez, DePaul
Daphne Corboz, Georgetown*
Rachel Daly, St. John's*
Alex Godinez, DePaul
Serina Kashimoto, Butler
Georgia Kearney-Perry, St. John's*
Mary Luba, Marquette*
Sophia Maccagnone, Butler
Katie Martin, Villanova
Mady Vicker, Marquette
Elise Wyatt, DePaul
Catherine Zimmerman, Providence
* denotes unanimous selection
