Thomas More nets top spot on PAC women’s soccer preseason coaches' poll 8/18/2016 1:00:56 PM GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) -- For the fifth-straight season the Thomas More College women’s soccer program was designated the favorite in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) preseason coaches' poll, as voted on by the league's 10 head coaches. The results of this year’s preseason coaches’ poll were unveiled along with the league's players to watch list Thursday. The Saints and 11th-year head coach Jeff Cummings collected eight first-place votes and 98 total points. Washington & Jefferson College picked up the final pair of first-place votes and finished second with 89 points while Grove City College was third with 81 points. Thomas More made its fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship last fall, earning the league’s automatic qualifying bid by winning its fifth-straight PAC Championship Tournament title and advancing to the Division III Championship’s sectional semifinal round for the third-straight season. The Saints have also posted four straight PAC regular season titles. The Saints bring back nine starters and 20 letter winners from last fall and enter the 2016 season number nine in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) NCAA Division III preseason ranking. The 2016 players to watch list includes seven All-PAC first team and five All-PAC second team selections from a year ago, highlighted by W&J junior forward Jordan Toohey (Mount Pleasant, Pa. / Mount Pleasant), the reigning PAC player of the year. Toohey led the league last season in goals (27) and game-winning goals (9), was third in points (61) and tied for 10th in assists (7). She finished the season tied for second among all Division III counterparts in game winners and tied for sixth in goals and tied for 11th in points. Following the 2015 season she was named to the NSCAA Division III All-Great Lakes region team and earned Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III South offensive player of the year honors. This year’s players to watch list also includes 17 members of the 2015 PAC Fall academic honor roll, which recognizes student-athletes on varsity sports teams who have earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition. The women's soccer season kicks off Thursday, September 1 with Waynesburg University hosting Juniata College (4 p.m.), Thomas More hosting Wittenberg University (5 p.m.), Thiel College hosting Hiram College (7 p.m.) and W&J hosting Marietta College (7 p.m.). The league’s regular season concludes Saturday, October 29 with the four-team PAC Championship Tournament scheduled to get underway Wednesday, November 2. 2016 PAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll School (first-place votes) Points 2015 Record (PAC) 1. Thomas More College (8) 98 19-1-2 (8-0-1) 2. Washington & Jefferson College (2) 89 14-2-2 (8-1) 3. Grove City College 81 12-7-4 (6-1-2) 4. Westminster College 72 13-4-2 (6-2-1) 5. Saint Vincent College 49 8-10 (4-5) 6. Waynesburg University 46 6-10 (3-6) 7. Geneva College 41 9-8 (5-4) 8. Chatham University 36 8-8 (2-7) T-9. Bethany College 19 3-13-1 (1-8) T-9. Thiel College 19 0-16-1 (0-9) 2016 PAC Women's Soccer Players to Watch Bethany Name Yr. Pos. Hometown / High School Brittany Fullbright Sr. MF Wadsworth, Ohio / Wadsworth Michaela Hinerman Jr. F Weirton, W.Va. / Brooke Sarah London Sr. MF Whitehouse Station, N.J. / Hunterdon Central Julie Slezak Sr. MF Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe Chatham Name Yr. Pos. Hometown / High School Skylar Benjamin Sr. F Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville Julie Bruening So. F Madison, Ohio / Madison Kassianna Politis So. MF McMurray, Pa. / Peters Township Megan Sieg Jr. MF Pittsburgh, Pa. / Serra Catholic Geneva Name Yr. Pos. Hometown / High School Kimmie Orihel Sr. F Green, Ohio / Cuyahoga Valley Christian Grove City Name Yr. Pos. Hometown / High School Lindsay Hutton Jr. MF Hackettstown, N.J. / Hackettstown Katherine Kouzelos Jr. F Akron, Ohio / Cuyahoga Valley Christian Megan Van Kirk Jr. D Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny Jordyn White Sr. D Mars, Pa. / Mars Saint Vincent Name Yr. Pos. Hometown / High School Lauren Czerwein Jr. D Verona, Pa. / Serra Catholic Calsey Holshue So. MF North Versailles, Pa. / Shady Side Academy Natalie Luppold So. MF West Newton, Pa. / Yough Maggie Nelson Jr. F Jefferson, Md. / Saint John's Catholic Prep. Thiel Name Yr. Pos. Hometown / High School Kaytee Candela Jr. MF Geneva, Ohio / Lakeside Katelyn Labos So. F Carnegie, Pa. / Chartiers Valley Joelle Reitz So. MF DuBois, Pa. / DuBois Thomas More Name Yr. Pos. Hometown / High School Megan Barton Sr. GK Florence, Ky. / Vlla Madonna Laura Felix Sr. MF Burlington, Ky. / St. Henry Julia Flagge-Echols Jr. F Colerain, Ohio / Colerain Taylor Robinson Sr. MF Alexandria, Ky. / Campbell County W&J Name Yr. Pos. Hometown / High School Josie Madden Jr. MF McKeesport, Pa. / Elizabeth Forward Tatiana Ruzzini Jr. F Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park Jordan Toohey Jr. F Mount Pleasant, Pa. / Mount Pleasant Nicole Walters So. D Cranberry Township, Pa. / Seneca Valley Waynesburg Name Yr. Pos. Hometown / High School Nikki Davis Jr. F Ligonier Valley, Pa. / Ligonier Valley Natalie Fortna So. MF Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan Samantha Nichols Jr. D Waynesboro, Pa. / Waynesboro Westminster Name Yr. Pos. Hometown / High School Keely Birsic So. MF North Ridgeville, Ohio / Elyria Catholic Sammy Creese Sr. D Mount Airy, Md. / Glenelg Abby Gore Jr. D Butler, Pa. / Knoch Laura Page Jr. GK Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park