LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- On the heels of a PSAC East regular season title last fall, the West Chester University women's soccer team is the preseason favorite to repeat as PSAC Eastern Division Champions in the PSAC East Preseason Coaches' poll released on Wednesday afternoon.
West Chester went 9-1-4 in league action last fall and won the PSAC East Regular Season title before falling to eventual PSAC Champion Shepherd in the PSAC Semifinals. West Chester's postseason continued into the NCAA Tournament, and the Golden Rams won their eighth Atlantic Regional Championship during this Tournament run, which led to the team making its second National Quarterfinal appearance in four Seasons.
Kianna Barber (Browns Mills, N.J./BCIT) headlines the returning offense for the Golden Rams after scoring 13 goals and adding five assists for 31 points on the year after earning PSAC East Player of the Year and United Soccer Third Team All-American honors. Defensively,
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) returns for her senior season between the pipes for West Chester after playing to a record of 16-3-4 with a 0.70 goals-against average and 14 shutouts, including a pair in the NCAA Tournament against Fairmont State and Shepherd.
Ranked sixth in the United Soccer/Intercollegiate Women's Soccer Organization for Coaches Division II Preseason poll, West Chester received all seven available first-place votes in the PSAC Preseason poll and was followed by Kutztown, Bloomsburg, Shepherd and Millersville in the top five. East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg, and Mansfield rounded out the Eastern Division preseason poll.
Slippery Rock is the favorite in the PSAC West with five first-place votes, followed by Gannon with four first-place votes, along with IUP, Edinboro, and Seton Hill to round out the top five. Lock Haven, Clarion, Pitt-Johnstown, and California rounded out the PSAC West Preseason rankings.
West Chester will open its season on August 27 at CACC Preseason favorite Jefferson, beginning at 2 p.m. This clash will be the first of three straight away from home to open the season, as the team will visit Bloomsburg at 3 p.m. on August 29 to open PSAC East play before visiting East Stroudsburg on September 2 beginning at 7 p.m. West Chester will play its home opener against Lackawanna on September 5 at 12 p.m.
