HCAC Announces Women's Soccer Preseason Poll

DEFIANCE, OHIO - The Defiance College women's soccer team landed ninth on the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll announced Tuesday morning. 

Hanover College, 2018 HCAC runner-up, claimed the top spot in the poll with 76 points and four first place votes. The HCAC defending champion, Mount St. Joseph, didn't trail the Panthers by much as the Lions took 75 points and four first place votes. Transylvania lands third with 64 points and was the only other team to earn a first place vote. Rose-Hulman and Franklin round out the top five with 54 and 47 points respectively. 

The three positions directly ahead of the Yellow Jackets were filled by Anderson with 46 points, Earlham with 34 points and Bluffton with 26 points. DC captured 15 points for the ninth position. Manchester rounded out the polling with 13 points. 

Winsper-Knobel Memorial Field will be filled with plenty of familiar faces for the program. Ten seniors will contribute their experience to the program under the direction of Interim Head Coach BJ Pheasant. 

On the HCAC "Players to Watch" list, two Yellow Jackets find their names. Seniors Madi Bowman (Eaton/Eaton) and Blake Newman (Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi) each earned the recognition. 

Bowman will once again find her familiar place minding the Defiance goal. The senior goalkeeper leads the record books for minutes played in goal in a Yellow Jacket uniform with 3,584. The Eaton native is coming off a season in which she made 137 saves, ranking her second in the HCAC during the 2018 season. The 2018 season also saw Bowman take control of the career saves category in the DC record books. 

Newman steps into her senior season after earning All-HCAC Honorable Mention honors during the 2018 season. The senior featured in all 17 games for the Purple and Gold last year, netting three goals including one game winner. Newman, a consistent starter over her career, will contribute more valuable time in the Yellow Jacket midfield in 2019. 

 The Yellow Jackets are set to begin the season on Friday, August 30, as they host Heidelberg as part of the 2019  Purple and Gold Classic. Kickoff is slated for 3:00 pm.

2019 HCAC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll