Monmouth Selected as Preseason Favorite in MAAC Women's Soccer
MAAC Sports
EDISON, NJ – The defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women’s soccer regular season champions, Monmouth University, was selected as the favorite in 2015, as voted by the league’s eleven head coaches. Monmouth earned 117 points with eight first place votes to edge out Fairfield University, which earned 105 points. Defending MAAC champion, Rider University, finished just behind the Stags with 103 points, earning the remaining three first place votes.
Monmouth finished the 2014 season with a 14-5 overall record and a 9-1 league mark in the MAAC to claim the outright regular season crown for the second consecutive year. The Hawks also finished the year ranked 10th in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Northeast Region poll. Monmouth’s bid for back-to-back championship titles fell one goal short in the semifinals to eventual champion, Rider. The Hawks claimed three of the leagues five regular season major awards and placed nine athletes on an All-MAAC team in 2014. The team was led by head coach Krissy Turner being named the 2014 Lids Team Sports MAAC Coach of the Year for the second straight year, while freshman forward Rachelle Ross claimed MAAC Rookie of the Year honors. Seven of the nine All-MAAC selections return to the Hawks for the 2015 campaign.
2014 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, Tara Ballay from Rider University was voted as the 2015 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. In 2014, the senior back/midfielder from Delran, New Jersey, lead the conference with 11 goals and a 1.50 points per game average. Ballay also tied for first in the league with 24 total points. Her 2014 accolades included being named to the All-MAAC First Team, being a member of the MAAC All-Academic Team, an NSCAA All-East Region Third-Team selection, a CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-American, and an ECAC All-Star Second Team choice.
The 2014 MAAC Championship runner-ups, Fairfield University, finished second in the poll with 105 points. The Stags finished the 2014 MAAC regular season with an 8-2 mark and an overall season record of 14-4-3. Fairfield’s 14 wins tied for the fourth most in program history.
Finishing the poll in a close third was 2014 defending MAAC champions, Rider with 103 points. The Broncs edged Fairfield in a shootout to claim their first ever league title last season. Rider capped off its championship campaign with a 12-6-3 overall record and a 5-3-2 conference mark.
Niagara University finished fourth in the poll with 78 points, followed by Siena College with 71 points to round out the top five. Manhattan College received 54 points, good for sixth, while Iona College finished a couple of points back with 52 total to finish in seventh. Canisius College picked up 49 points for eighth and Quinnipiac University earned a ninth place finish with 44 points. Rounding out the poll were Marist College with 37 points and Saint Peter’s University with 16 points.
The preseason All-MAAC team consists of Monmouth’s Alexis McTamney and Rachelle Ross, and Rider’s Michelle Iacono at the forward position. At midfield are Monmouth’s Brianne Boyle and the Rider duo of Ballay and Ellie Smith. Fairfield’s Anna Borea and Karolyn Collins, Niagara’s Haillie Price, Rider’s Heather Maierle and Emily Schmitt and Siena’s Tara Sobierajski make up the backs. The goalkeeper is 2014 MAAC Championship MVP Bethany-May Howard of Rider.
Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
1.
|
Monmouth
|
117
|
|
2.
|
Fairfield
|
105
|
|
3.
|
Rider
|
103
|
|
4.
|
Niagara
|
78
|
|
5.
|
Siena
|
71
|
|
6.
|
Manhattan
|
54
|
|
7.
|
Iona
|
52
|
|
8.
|
Canisius
|
49
|
|
9.
|
Quinnipiac
|
44
|
|
10.
|
Marist
|
37
|
|
11.
|
Saint Peter’s
|
16
|
Preseason All-MAAC Team
|
Alexis McTamney
|
Forward
|
Monmouth
|
|
Rachelle Ross
|
Forward
|
Monmouth
|
|
Michelle Iacono
|
Forward
|
Rider
|
|
Brianne Boyle
|
Midfield
|
Monmouth
|
|
Tara Ballay
|
Midfield
|
Rider
|
|
Ellie Smith
|
Midfield
|
Rider
|
|
Anna Borea
|
Back
|
Fairfield
|
|
Karolyn Collins
|
Back
|
Fairfield
|
|
Haillie Price
|
Back
|
Niagara
|
|
Heather Maierle
|
Back
|
Rider
|
|
Emily Schmitt
|
Back
|
Rider
|
|
Tara Sobierajski
|
Back
|
Siena
|
|
Bethany-May Howard
|
Goalkeeper
|
Rider
|
Preseason Player of the Year