senior Jessie Baxa.
Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
Wildcat Women’s Soccer Picked 7th in Preseason League Poll
8/16/2011 12:14:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Gavin McFarlin -- Assistant SID
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DAVIDSON, N.C. — The preseason Southern Conference women's soccer poll was released and Davidson was picked seventh by the 12 SoCon coaches as they also selected an 11-player preseason all-conference team as announced by the league office today.
Two year's removed from winning the program's fourth SoCon Tournament Title and reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, the Wildcats, who received 69 points, return 17 of its 23 letterwinners from last year's 6-8-6 squad.
UNCG, which went 11-0 in league play to win the regular season title last year, claimed seven-of-12 first-place votes and 112 total points to lead the balloting, finishing one point ahead of Samford.
The Spartans placed a league-high three players on the preseason all-conference team, including goalkeeper Kelsey Kearney, who was the 2010 SoCon Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Samford, entering its fourth season as a SoCon member, is in pursuit of its first SoCon title. The Bulldogs have finished second to UNCG each of the past two seasons, while also placing as the SoCon Tournament runner-up in 2010. Coach Todd Yelton's squad received the remaining five first-place nods.
Of the 17 returners for the Wildcats, eight were starters a year ago and six of them are seniors this year, including team captains Stephanie Gerow (Houston, Texas) and Jessie Baxa (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.). The duo had strong junior campaigns with Gerow starting all 20 games, while scoring a goal and assisting on two others for four points. Baxa was the Wildcats' main goalkeeper, recording career bests in starts (17), saves (76), shutouts (7- third-most in SoCon) and minutes (1,485:42).
Davidson, which is entering its eighth season under the guidance of Greg Ashton, opens its 2011 campaign with five straight home games. It all starts on Saturday, Aug. 20, with a matchup against UNC Asheville with gametime set for 7 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.
2011 Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. UNCG (7) — 112
2. Samford (5) — 111
3. The Citadel — 89
4. College of Charleston — 86
5. Elon — 82
6. Furman — 77
7. Davidson — 69
8. Western Carolina — 46
9. Appalachian State — 42
10. Wofford — 32
11. Georgia Southern — 26
12. Chattanooga — 20
2011 Women's Soccer Preseason All-Conference Team
F Mariana Garcia, The Citadel
F Martha Hall, Furman
F Donna-Kay Henry, Chattanooga
MF Sarah Schaidle, College of Charleston
MF Rachel Shelnutt, Furman
MF Jaimey Etten, UNCG
MF Michelle Moll, Samford
D Hannah Gmerek, College of Charleston
D Andrea Keller, Elon
D Cat Barnekow, UNCG
GK Kelsey Kearney, UNCG
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