Cobbers Are 1 Of 5 To Earn First Place Votes

MIAC women's soccer preview courtesy of Matt Higgins and the MIAC office

Click here for the complete MIAC women's soccer preview

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A year ago, just 10 points separated the top seven teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) women's soccer standings. With the 2014 season about to begin, that parity is expected to continue, and the result should be an i ncredibly entertaining season on soccer pitches around the MIAC.

Despite the equality throughout the standings, Saint Benedict was the class of the competitive conference a year ago, with Macalester right on the Blazers' heels. Saint Ben's captured both the regular-season and MIAC Playoff championships with a 16-3-1 overall record and a 9-2 MIAC mark. The Scots were the runners-up in both the conference's regular and post-season with a 13-5-1 overall record, and they were just a game behind the Blazers in the conference standings at 8-3.

After those two, things really got interesting in the battle for the final two MIAC Playoff spots. Perennial contender Concordia (11-7-1 overall) and a strong St. Olaf squad tied for the third and joined Saint Benedict and Macalester in the MIAC Playoffs with identical 7-3-1 conference records. That left an extremely talented and high-scoring Augsburg (10-3-5, 6-3-2 MIAC) on the outside looking in.

The other postseason contenders were also right there until the final weekend, as just two points separated sixth through eighth in the standings. Hamline (9-6-3, 6-4-1 MIAC) was sixth with 19 points, Carleton (8-9-1, 6-5 MIAC) was a point back of the Pipers in seventh, and St. Thomas came in eighth with 17 points and a 9-7-2 overall record (5-4-2 MIAC). Bethel (7-10-1, 3-7-1 MIAC) edged Gustavus (8-9, 3-8) by a single point, 10-9, for ninth place. St. Catherine finished 7-11 overall (2-9 MIAC) and Saint Mary's (0-18, 0-11) rounded out the final standings.

Remarkably, 11 of the MIAC's 12 teams won at least seven games overall in 2013. More than half (7 of 12) finished above .500 overall and the top eight all finished above .500 in conference play. That kind of talent and parity made for an unforgettable 2013 campaign, and all the returning talent from those teams fuels the optimism that 2014 could somehow be even better. Both Saint Benedict and Macalester graduated their top stars which may open the door for the next wave of contenders to all jump into the title picture and, throughout the league, expectations are at an all-time high at seemingly each campus.

While the parity is expected to remain the same, there is one big change to MIAC soccer in 2014. This year, the MIAC Playoff field has expanded from four to six teams, so if things are just as tight at the top this season, more teams will have the opportunity to win their way into the NCAA Tournament. The top two seeds will receive a bye to the semifinals, where they will await the quarterfinal winners. The tournament will still be a high-seed host, single-elimination format, with the top two seeds receiving a bye to the semifinals. Seeds 3-6 will square off in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 4, with the winners advancing to semifinal matches the following day, Wednesday, Nov. 5. The two semifinal winners will meet on Saturday, Nov. 8 with the postseason title - and an automatic bid to the national tournament - on the line.

PARITY REFLECTED IN PRESEASON POLL
Any discussion of parity in the league in 2014 can be supported by the evidence provided by the 2014 MIAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll. Remarkably, six teams all received at least 82 points in the poll, and five different teams received first-place votes. Three of those five received more than one first-place vote so, if the coaches' predictions are any indication, the race for the MIAC championship will be an enthralling multiple-team affair.

However, despite the competition, the coaches call for a repeat as Saint Benedict received six of the 12 first-place votes and 115 total points to emerge as the favorite to capture the MIAC title. Macalester received two first-place votes and 103 points to finish second. St. Olaf and Concordia each received one first-place vote with the Oles (93 points) edging the Cobbers (90) for third place. Augsburg garnered two first-place votes, and is tied for fifth in the poll with St. Thomas, as both accumulated 82 points in the poll.

Hamline received 65 points to finish seventh, with Carleton in eighth place with 51 points. St. Catherine received 42 points to finish ninth, Gustavus (30) edged Bethel (27) for the final spot in the top 10, and Saint Mary's (12) rounded out the final spot in the coaches' preseason predictions.

CONFERENCE COACHING STABILITY
In recent years, the MIAC coaching carousel had been rather busy, with seven of the 12 teams making a coaching change within the last three seasons. However, the spinning stopped during the offseason, and each team will bring back a veteran coach in 2014. Augsburg's Mike Navarre is the dean of MIAC women's soccer coaches as he begins his 16th season leading the Auggies.

St. Olaf's Jeremy Driver is closing in on a decade in Northfield as he opens his ninth season. Hamline's Ted Zingmann and St. Thomas' Shelia McGill are both beginning their eighth campaign and Steve Kimble starts his sixth season at Saint Benedict.

Saint Mary's Neil Cassidy and St. Catherine's Chris Citowicki are both starting year No. 4, Macalester's Michele Cornish, Gustavus' Laura Burnett-Kurie, Carleton's Jocelyn Keller and Bethel's Amanda Maxwell are each opening their third season at their current post, and Concordia's Kevin Roos was the only new coach a year ago as he opens his second season in Moorhead.

WHO TO WATCH FOR
The defending champions waved goodbye to star forward Colleen Bouchard - a first-team All-American in 2013 - but Kimble's Saint Benedict squad is still loaded at seemingly every position. A trio of juniors will lead the Blazers' MIAC title defense as defender Megan Lenz and Midfielder Peggy Reiner were both Third-Team All-Region picks a year ago, and forward Grace Vaughan was an All-MIAC selection.

Macalester also loses its top player - scoring whiz and 2013 MIAC Player-of-the-Year Georgia Cloepfil - but the Scots also have players ready to step up and increase their scoring numbers in her absence. All-Conference midfielder Bonnie Gale and forward Lydia Chodosh give Cornish's team a valuable tandem of senior leadership, and hopes for title contention once again.

St. Olaf will have some work to do on defense, as Driver graduated All-MIAC goalkeeper Nora Forbes and some valuable defenders, but All-MIAC forward Kajsa Brindley and her scoring touch are back to lead the Ole offense. Clutch midfielder Madison Van Wylen is also back after scoring a pair of game-winning goals in 2013.

In his second season guiding Concordia, Roos has a wealth of talent returning to Moorhead. Seniors Libby Fransdal (defender) and Laura Prosinski (midfielder) have earned All-MIAC in each of the last two seasons, and fellow senior Elizabeth Robinson (forward) joined them on the All-Conference team in 2013 to give the Cobbers a stellar returning nucleus.

Augsburg's offense will be loaded again in 2014, as Navarre welcomes back senior forward Olivia Muyres, whose 19 goals and 47 points in 2013 were new Auggie single-season records. All-MIAC Honorable Mention picks Marie Fitzgerald and Abi Rodstein will also be back for the Augsburg attack. St. Thomas was hit hard by graduation, losing All-Conference stars Jaclyn Glaser, Jenna Savino and Katy Scherer, but are excited about a pair of seniors stepping into expanded roles. Defender Morgan McConachie was an All-MIAC Honorable Mention pick a year ago, and forward Taylor Sabrowski will step in to lead the Tommie offense.

Hamline should be solid on defense with All-MIAC goalkeeper Erin Urbanowicz and Honorable Mention defender Mackenzie Zink both back, and forward Aileen Scheibner will be counted on to lead the Pipers' scoring attack in 2014. Carleton has All-MIAC midfielder Bailey Ulbricht back in the lineup, along with All-MIAC Honorable Mention goalkeeper Mikayla Coulombe and forward Ellie Wilson as the Knights aim to get back to the postseason.

St. Catherine hopes for its upward trajectory to continue in 2014 behind a pair of All-MIAC Honorable Mention returnees - forward Elly Leyva and Sarah Anderson. Leyva was especially clutch, with game-winners in both of SCU's overtime games, and forward Nina Bukowski will also be counted on for additional scoring. Gustavus could be another team on the rise in Burnett-Kurie's third season with nearly all key players back in St. Peter. Maddison Ackiss is back after notching 19 points in her rookie campaign, and junior forward Brittany Chase also returns to help keep the future looking bright for the Gusties.

Bethel is another team that brings back its nucleus intact, starting with talented senior midfielder Jessica Huseby, who has received All-Conference honors during her career. All-MIAC Honorable Mention picks Olivia Haggerty (defender) and Micale Jensen (goalkeeper) also return for the Royals. Saint Mary's hopes for greener pastures in 2014 behind junior midfielder Caroline Blackwood - a two-time All-MIAC Honorable Mention pick - along with senior goalkeeper Miranda Halling and junior midfielder Kelli Harstad.

CIRCLE THESE DATES
The 2014 MIAC women's soccer season is set to start on Friday, Aug. 29, with all 12 teams in nonconference action. Carleton, Concordia, St. Thomas, Gustavus, St. Catherine, Saint Benedict and Bethel will all open Friday on the road, while St. Olaf, Hamline, Saint Mary's, Augsburg and Macalester will all make their 2014 debuts at home.

The 2014 conference season begins with a full six-game slate on Tuesday, Sept. 16, and the regular season will conclude on Saturday, Nov. 1, with all 12 teams also in action on the season's final day. The new-look, six-team MIAC Playoffs will follow with quarterfinals on Nov. 4, semifinals on Nov. 5 and the championship on Nov. 8.

There will be plenty of thrilling matchups that could decide championship and postseason hopes, as well as spots throughout the standings. Last season's top two teams will meet in a rematch of the MIAC Playoff championship on Oct. 1 when Saint Benedict travels to Macalester for a 7:30 p.m. prime-time showdown. The other two returning Playoff teams - St. Olaf and Concordia - will meet on Sept. 27 when the Oles head to Moorhead to face the Cobbers at 1 p.m.

On the season's final day, Augsburg and St. Thomas will square off in a Twin Cities showdown that could have major postseason implications on the Auggies home field Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. Hamline and Carleton also hope to be in the postseason hunt, and their Oct. 18 matchup in Northfield at 1 p.m. could be a huge game for both teams' Playoff hopes.

Bethel and Saint Mary's also meet Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. in Arden Hills in a key game for teams looking for upward mobility in 2014. St. Catherine and Gustavus will meet in St. Peter on Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. in a game between two more teams looking to continue their development and take that next step in 2014.

2014 MIAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll

Coaches voted for every team in the conference except their own team. Points were assigned for each vote (11 for first, 10 for second, etc.) Teams are ranked in order of highest point total to lowest with vote totals listed and first-place votes shown in parentheses.