Women's Soccer: WVU BIG EAST Favorites
August 11, 2009 12:48 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
August 11, 2009
 |
 |
| Carolyn Blank | Megan Mischler |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For the third straight season, the West Virginia University women’s soccer team has been chosen to win the league division title, BIG EAST conference officials announced on Tuesday.
“It’s a huge compliment to be chosen first in one of the best conferences in the country,” says coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “However, we haven’t played a game yet and our ladies know that we want this honor at the end of the year when all the games have been played. Every BIG EAST game is a battle and winning a division title is a huge accomplishment.”
The Mountaineers garnered 13 of the 15 first-place votes in voting done by the league’s 16 head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players or teams.
Totaling 118 points overall in the American division, WVU edged out Connecticut, which had 104 points. The Mountaineers boast two all-conference preseason selections in senior Carolyn Blank, a unanimous pick, and junior Megan Mischler.
Notre Dame received all 15 first-place votes and was picked to win the National Division. The Irish placed four players on the all-BIG EAST preseason team.
The 2009 BIG EAST Women's Soccer Championship is a 10-team single-elimination tournament. The top five teams in each division, seeded by conference point total, qualify for the conference championship. The top three teams in each division earn first-round byes to the quarterfinals. The first round and quarterfinal games are conducted on the campuses of the higher seeded teams.
First-round games will be held on Oct. 29, with the quarterfinals following on Nov. 1. Connecticut’s Morrone Stadium will serve as host for the semifinals (Nov. 6) as well as the championship game (Nov. 8). The final three matches of the championship will be televised live on the CBS College Sports Network. The semifinals also will be carried exclusively on CBS C, while the title game will be shown on numerous regional sports networks, including SportsNet NY (SNY). The title game also will be broadcast live nationally on CBS C beginning at noon ET. The tournament champion receives the league’s automatic berth into the 64-team NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.
The Mountaineers open the 2009 campaign at home against Ohio State on Sunday, August 23. Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium will play host to nine home matches this fall, with the conference home opener scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24, against Marquette.
2009 BIG EAST PRESEASON AWARD WINNERS Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Melissa Henderson, So., F, Notre Dame Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Brittany Taylor, r-Sr., D, Connecticut Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year Erin Guthrie, Sr., GK, Rutgers 2009 ALL-BIG EAST PRESEASON TEAM Courtney Barg, So., F/M, Notre Dame *Carolyn Blank, Sr., M, West Virginia *Gina DeMaio, Sr., M, Rutgers Kelly Eagan, Sr., D, Villanova Lauren Fowlkes, Jr., D/M, Notre Dame Erin Guthrie, Sr., GK, Rutgers *Melissa Henderson, So., F, Notre Dame Megan Mischler, Jr., F, West Virginia Kacey Richards, Jr., M, Connecticut Courtney Rosen, Sr., F/M, Notre Dame Brittany Taylor, R-Sr., D/F/M, Connecticut *Ingrid Wells, R-So., M, Georgetown Annie Yi, Sr., M, Connecticut * - unanimous selection ^ - Due to a tie in voting, two extra members have been added
