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RIPON, Wis. – St. Norbert was one of three teams to win the MWC Championship last season before faltering in the championship game of the MWC Tournament but is pegged as the favorite this season in the  2012 Midwest Conference (MWC) Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Green Knights earned nine first place votes and 98 points which edged out 2011 MWC Tournament champion Carroll who earned 88 points and a first place vote. Grinnell, who also was a tri-champion last season, earned the other first place vote with 85 points while Lawrence rounds out the top four with 66 points. Lake Forest (64 points), Ripon (56) and Monmouth (53) are slotted in spots five through seven, respectively, with Cornell (33), Illinois Col. (29), Knox (21) and Beloit (12) round out the field.

Cornell will rejoin the MWC after plating in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) since the 1997 season. The Rams, a charter MWC member, will be competing for their first ever MWC Championship after compiling a 122-149-6 record while a member of the IIAC.

Co-Offensive Player of the Year Katie Vanden Avond (St. Norbert) and Defensive Player of the Year Zoe Kurth (St. Norbert) headline a group of strong returnees which include 18 of the 26 All-MWC selections from 2011. Brandi Peltier (Ripon), Nicole Sipfle (Grinnell), Lauren Demski (Carroll) and Samantha Barranco (Monmouth) join Vanden Avond and Kurth as returning All-MWC First Team award winners.

Voting is done by the MWC head women’s soccer coaches. Each coach votes for the ten other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (ten points for first, nine for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.


2012 MWC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll

Place	Team (First Place Votes)	Points
1	St. Norbert (9)	98
2	Carroll (1)	88
3	Grinnell (1)	85
4	Lawrence	66
5	Lake Forest	64
6	Ripon	56
7	Monmouth	53
8	Cornell	33
9	Illinois Col.	29
10	Knox	21
11	Beloit	12

Team Previews:

1.  St. Norbert Green Knights
2011 Record:  11-8-1, 7-1-1
Returning All-MWC First Team: 2
Returning All-MWC Second Team: 1

In 2012 St. Norbert won a share of the MWC Championship and went on to win the MWC Tournament, finishing the year with 11 overall wins. 2011 MWC Coach of the Year Dennis Detrie brings back four All-MWC selections, which includes Co-Offensive Player of the Year Katie Vanden Avond and Defensive Player of the Year Zoe Kurth. Vanden Avond ran away with the scoring title as she scored 28 goals and had 64 points, eight more than the next player. Kurth led the defense but also scored three goals and 11 points on 44 shots while Erin McQuinn also scored three goals. The Green Knights scored a conference-high 55 goals last season by 11 different players while only giving up 36. Sarah Platzer will backstop the defense again in goal after a 1.77 goals against average and .712 save percentage.


2.  Carroll Pioneers
2012 Record:  11-8-2, 7-1-1
Returning All-MWC First Team: 1
Returning All-MWC Second Team:  1

Susie Foster takes over at Carroll and aims to continue the championship streak as the Pioneers have won at least a share of the MWC Championship the last three seasons. The Pioneers had six players named All-MWC last season and return three of them with first team defender Lauren Demski, second team midfielder Sam Gavin and honorable mention midfielder Sarah Tennant all coming back. Tennant led the team, and was eighth in the league, with eight goals and totaled 17 points to co-lead the team. Demski added six goals, including one game winner, from her defensive position where she helped the Pioneers allow a league-low 21 goals. Gavin tallied eight points (three goals, two assists) while Kara Delie scored five goals and added a pair of assists in 2011.

3.  Grinnell Pioneers
2011 Record:  10-6-2, 7-1-1
Returning All-MWC First Team:  1
Returning All-MWC Second Team: 2

Grinnell was one of three teams that shared the MWC Championship last season and Head Coach Heather Benning is in search of the Pioneers first trip to the NCAA Tournament since the 2006 season. Benning returns a strong core of players led by four All-MWC selections for a team that finished in the top half of the league in most major categories. First team selection Nicole Sipfle only scored a single goal but was the backbone of a Grinnell defense that allowed opponents to score only 22 goals and will be paired with second team defender Eden Marek (three assists) to solidify the back line. Second team forward Rachel Weinstein scored a pair of goals from her forward position while honorable mention forward Kathryn Vincent had eight points (two goals, four assists) to lead the offense. Jordan Young posted a 1.22 goals against average with a .750 save percentage, earning ten wins.

4.  Lawrence Vikings
2011 Record:  7-11-1, 5-3-1
Returning All-MWC First Team:  0
Returning All-MWC Second Team:  0

Lawrence earned a trip to the MWC Tournament the last three seasons and head coach Lisa Sammons is expecting to have a repeat of the 2010 season when the Vikings won the MWC Tournament to earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament. Sammons needs to look to other avenues for offensive production this season, losing MWC Co-Offensive Player of the Year Mallory Koula to graduation after she scored 20 goals and racked up 45 points. Keli Muchowski was second on the teams in offensive production with four goals and 15 points while teammate Jennifer Angeli scored two goals and added two assists.  Cassandra Burke comes back to play between the pipes after starting in 18 games last season where she had a 2.40 goals against average while also accumulating a .707 save percentage.

5.  Lake Forest Foresters
2011 Record:  7-11-0, 3-6-0
Returning All-MWC First Team:  0
Returning All-MWC Second Team: 1

Lake Forest aims to get back into the MWC Tournament after falling short in 2011 and will play for its first MWC Championship since the 2004 season under the tutelage of T.R. Bell. Bell welcomes back his top five goal scorers from a year ago, including Courtenay Raymond, who tallied six goals and four assists. Megan O‘Connor netted five goals and was responsible for three game winning goals (fourth in MWC) while Hailey Schleibinger and Emily Keast both tallied three goals. All-MWC Second Team forward Lisa Sorensen rounds out the front line scoring after recording six points (two goals, two assists) a year ago. Bri Schleibinger will be between the pipes again this year after posting a 1.65 goals against average and a .773 save percentage (third in MWC).

6.  Ripon Red Hawks
2011 Record:  7-10-1, 4-4-1
Returning All-MWC First Team: 1
Returning All-MWC Second Team: 0

Ripon earned seven wins last season which equaled the total number of wins they had in the 2009 and 2010 seasons combined and pushes towards getting back to the MWC Tournament for the first time in school history under Sam Schroeder. All-MWC First Team forward Brandi Peltier had an outstanding freshman year where she finished second in the league in both points (65) and goals (25) with four of the goals going as game winners. Alex Jirik, Kyla Robert and Kali Doerr give the Red Hawks depth up front, each scoring three goals while Jirik added seven assists. The Red Hawks will rely on a freshman goalkeeper this year as last year’s starter Lexi Soich will move to the midfield where she contributed an assist last season.

7.  Monmouth Fighting Scots
2011 Record: 8-7-2, 5-3-1
Returning All-MWC First Team: 1
Returning All-MWC Second Team: 2

The difference between making the MWC Tournament and not for Monmouth in 2011 was losing out on a tie breaker but Head Coach Barry McNamara brings back a strong and experienced lineup in search of the school’s first MWC Championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament. All-MWC Second Team pick Lauren Kellen paces the offense after scoring ten goals (seventh in MWC) and adding three assists and will be aided by fellow sophomore Alex Ivie who scored five goals last season. All-MWC midfielders Dani Gordon (second team) and Mikaela Rogers (honorable mention) will contribute both offensively and defensively for a Fighting Scots team that only surrendered 22 goals. All-MWC First Team goalkeeper Samantha Barranco led the league with an .832 save percentage, was second with a 1.12 goals against average and backstopped five shutouts in her 17 games played.

8.  Cornell Rams
2011 Record:  5-14-0, 1-7-0
Returning All-IIAC First Team: 0
Returning All-IIAC Second Team: 0

Cornell returns to the MWC and works towards claiming a championship for the first time in school history under Head Coach Kirsten Russell. The Rams are back in the conference after a 5-14 season and need to replace the team’s top two point scorers from a year ago. Kendra Wisely (three goals, assist) and Chelsea Harris (two goals, two assists) lead the offensive attack after the Rams lost 11 goals from a team that only scored 19 all season. Alexia Zebroski (goal, assist) and Emily Keyser (two assists) are the defensive veterans that will play in front of Kassi Todryk who played in all 19 games last season.

9.  Illinois Col. Blueboys
2011 Record:  4-10-4, 0-6-3
Returning All-MWC First Team: 0
Returning All-MWC Second Team: 0

Illinois Col. doubled its win total from 2010 season last year as they finished with four wins and look to take the next step and earn a berth into the MWC Tournament. The Lady Blues outscored opponents 30-22 last season and recorded five shutouts to possess one of the stronger defensive units in the league. Behind the defensive success was keeper Corey Hanson who earned a 1.30 goals against average (fourth in MWC) and an .817 save percentage (second in MWC). Ellen Radcliffe (five goals, two assists) will headline the offense after posting a team-best 12 points while Rachel Schuchman and Sarah Skaggs both scored four goals and will compliment Radcliffe on the front line.

10.  Knox Prairie Fire
2011 Record:  3-13-1, 1-7-1
Returning All-MWC First Team: 0
Returning All-MWC Second Team: 1

Melissa Joseph is back at the helm of women’s soccer team at Knox for the second season and looks for a spot in the MWC Tournament for the first time since the 1995 season. Joseph returns one of the top offensive players in the league from 2011 in All-MWC Second Team selection Arielle Dorman. Dorman finished fifth in the league in both goals (12) and points (29) and had a hand in 17 of the Prairie Fire’s 20 goals on the season. Ella Peterson brings back five goals and two assists with Rachael Koene contributing a pair of goals. Koene will also spend time in the net as she split goaltending duties with graduated senior Emily Turner and recorded a .683 goals against average on 95 saves.

11.  Beloit Buccaneers
2011 Record:  4-11-2, 0-7-2
Returning All-MWC First Team: 0
Returning All-MWC Second Team: 0

Beloit is fresh off a 2011 season where the team finished 4-11-2 and returns all but two players under Head Coach Liz Bartley. While the Buccaneers bring back nearly their entire squad Bartley needs to find a scoring replacement for departed All-MWC First Team selection Molly Dickson. Dickson scored 15 of the Bucs 24 goals last season and accounted for 32-of-62 points. Erin Chambers and Kirsten Takaki both had a pair of goals with Chambers tallying six total points. Gina Widmer had a team-high four assists while five other players found the score sheet with a goal each last season. Alex Spirov played in every minute of action last season and saw a heavy workload leading the league in saves (154) and posting a .751 save percentage.