Monmouth Women’s Soccer Selected as 2019 Preseason Favorite, Madie Gibson Named Preseason Player of the Year
Monmouth Women’s Soccer Selected as 2019 Preseason Favorite, Madie Gibson Named Preseason Player of the Year
EDISON, N.J. – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced Tuesday that Monmouth University has been unanimously selected as the 2019 women’s soccer preseason favorite, as voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.
The Hawks claimed the school’s third-straight MAAC title in 2018 after defeating Siena College 7-1 in the Championship game in West Long Branch. Monmouth led the league in shots (17.5 per game), goals (2.45), assists (2.45) and points (7.15), and it held opponents to a league-low 0.4 goals per game. The Monmouth squad finished the season with a 16-4-1 mark, going 9-1 in conference play.
Monmouth’s Madie Gibson has been selected as the 2019 Preseason Player of the Year for the third-consecutive season. The Cape May, New Jersey native collected MAAC Player of the Year honors in 2018, scoring eight times and adding just as many helpers for a total of 24 points on the season. The redshirt senior was the only player unanimously selected to the 2019 Preseason All-MAAC team, joining teammates Jill Conklin, Lexie Palladino, Anna Lazur, Jess Johnson, Sarina Jones, and Amanda Knaub.
Quinnipiac University and Siena were ranked second and third by the league’s coaches with 96 and 89 points respectively. The two schools met in the opening round of the 2018 MAAC Women’s Soccer Championship, where Siena advanced and eventually made the championship game. Selena Salas, a sophomore midfielder for the Bobcats, was named to the 2019 Preseason All-MAAC Team after making the All-MAAC Rookie Team in 2018.
Marist College finished fourth in the poll with 86 points and Rider University placed fifth with 81. The Red Foxes finished the 2018 campaign with a 7-2-1 mark in conference play, drawing the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Championship. The Broncs finished with a 4-3-3 mark, making the championship as the No. 5 seed. Marist will look to capture the team’s first title since 2011, Rider will look to claim their first since 2014. Rider’s Valeria Pascuet and Niamh Cashin were named to the All-MAAC Preseason Team.
Niagara University finished sixth in the 2019 MAAC Preseason Poll with 69 points. Kelsey Araujo and Annie Ibey of the Purple Eagles were both named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team as forwards. Niagara will look to add onto the school’s lone MAAC Championship which was captured in 2006.
Rounding out the 2019 MAAC Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll was Fairfield University (54), Manhattan College (50), Canisius College (32), Iona College (28), and Saint Peter’s University (20).
The 2019 MAAC Women’s Soccer Championship begins with first round action on Nov. 3, hosted by the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. Semifinals are set for Thursday, Nov. 7, hosted by the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. The Championship Game is set for Sunday, Nov. 10 and will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.
| Preseason All-MAAC Team |
| Player |
Position |
Institution |
| Madie Gibson* |
Forward |
Monmouth |
| Kelsey Araujo |
Forward |
Niagara |
| Annie Ibey |
Forward |
Niagara |
| Jill Conklin |
Midfield |
Monmouth |
| Lexie Palladino |
Midfield |
Monmouth |
| Valeria Pascuet |
Midfield |
Rider |
| Selena Salas |
Midfield |
Quinnipiac |
| Niamh Cashin |
Back |
Rider |
| Anna Lazur |
Back |
Monmouth |
| Jess Johnson |
Back |
Monmouth |
| Sarina Jones |
Back |
Monmouth |
| Amanda Knaub |
Goalkeeper |
Monmouth |
* = Unanimous selection
| Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| Monmouth (11) |
121 |
| Quinnipiac |
96 |
| Siena |
89 |
| Marist |
86 |
| Rider |
81 |
| Niagara |
69 |
| Fairfield |
54 |
| Manhattan |
50 |
| Canisius |
32 |
| Iona |
28 |
| Saint Peter’s |
20 |
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 39
th year of competition during the 2019-20 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.