UNO Selected as Favorites in First MIAA Soccer Sea
Aug 7, 2008 | Women's Soccer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The newest member of the league, the the University of Nebraska at Omaha Mavericks, has been selected as the team to beat in the 2008 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association women's soccer season, according to the coaches preseason poll.
UNO claimed four of the available eight first-place votes (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams) and finished with 60 points in the poll. The Mavericks have six starters coming back from their sixth consecutive NCAA Division II tournament appearance, which ended with a 1-0 loss to Grand Valley (Mich.) State in the national quarterfinals.
UNO has advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament every year since 2002.
Senior forward Casey Bigsby, the Mavericks' leading scorer in 2007 with 10 goals, four assists and 24 points, leads the six returning starters. UNO will be a young squad -- with 60 percent of the roster either true or redshirt freshmen -- and be searching for a new primary goalkeeper for 2008.
The defending regular-season co-champs nearly tied for second in the survey, but the Central Missouri Jennies picked up three first-place votes and 54 points, just ahead of Truman. The Bulldogs had the other two first-place votes and 53 points.
UCM has eight starters back, but the Jennies must replace second-team All-MIAA netminder Elizabeth Casey (a league-best 0.62 GAA) and a first-team all-conference defender in Kelsi Ginavan. Senior forward Hazel Cox (6g, 5a, 17 pts.) and senior midfielder Carrie Twellman (4g, 2a, 10 pts.) -- both first-team All-MIAA in 2007 -- are among the starters back in the fold.
Like Central Missouri, Truman also has eight returning starters and a need for a new goalie. The Bulldogs do have their top three scorers back in the fold -- all juniors -- with forward Jessica Wiegert (7g, 5a, 19 pts.) along side of midfielders Katie Reuck (7g, 3a, 17 pts.) and Isabel Gaeta (7g, 2a, 16 pts.). Reuck was a first-team all-conference choice, while Wiegert and Gaeta were second-teamers in 2007.
Washburn was fourth in the poll with 47 points. The Lady Blues have senior forward Jessica Mainz, two-time MIAA Most Valuable Player (as well as Defensive Player of the Year in women's basketball) along with the other 10 starters back from 2007. Mainz (15g, 7a, 37 pts.) moved into third-place on the MIAA's career scoring (97 points) and goals (41) lists last season.
Southwest Baptist was fifth in the poll with 34 points, and returns just four starters from last year's squad -- which advanced to the final of the now-defunct MIAA Tournament before losing to Truman. Among the key losses were first-team All-MIAA goalkeeper Aline Lopes (0.73 GAA) and MIAA Freshman of the Year Dominie Emmanuel (10g, 2a, 22 pts.).
Missouri Southern, with the league's top scorer coming back in senior midfielder Nikki Llewellyn (18g, 3a, 39 pts.), was sixth in the poll with 31 points. The Lions were followed by Northwest Missouri State (20 points), Missouri Western (17 points) and Emporia State (8 points).
As noted, the postseason tournament has been discontinued to allow flexibility in scheduling the double round-robin regular season slate. The team or teams with the best regular-season record will be declared MIAA champions.
The MIAA will compete in the South Central Region along with the Lone Star Conference and Heartland Conference in 2008.
Regular season play starts Friday, Aug. 29, with the first MIAA matches slated for Thursday, Sept. 11.
UNO claimed four of the available eight first-place votes (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams) and finished with 60 points in the poll. The Mavericks have six starters coming back from their sixth consecutive NCAA Division II tournament appearance, which ended with a 1-0 loss to Grand Valley (Mich.) State in the national quarterfinals.
UNO has advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament every year since 2002.
Senior forward Casey Bigsby, the Mavericks' leading scorer in 2007 with 10 goals, four assists and 24 points, leads the six returning starters. UNO will be a young squad -- with 60 percent of the roster either true or redshirt freshmen -- and be searching for a new primary goalkeeper for 2008.
The defending regular-season co-champs nearly tied for second in the survey, but the Central Missouri Jennies picked up three first-place votes and 54 points, just ahead of Truman. The Bulldogs had the other two first-place votes and 53 points.
UCM has eight starters back, but the Jennies must replace second-team All-MIAA netminder Elizabeth Casey (a league-best 0.62 GAA) and a first-team all-conference defender in Kelsi Ginavan. Senior forward Hazel Cox (6g, 5a, 17 pts.) and senior midfielder Carrie Twellman (4g, 2a, 10 pts.) -- both first-team All-MIAA in 2007 -- are among the starters back in the fold.
Like Central Missouri, Truman also has eight returning starters and a need for a new goalie. The Bulldogs do have their top three scorers back in the fold -- all juniors -- with forward Jessica Wiegert (7g, 5a, 19 pts.) along side of midfielders Katie Reuck (7g, 3a, 17 pts.) and Isabel Gaeta (7g, 2a, 16 pts.). Reuck was a first-team all-conference choice, while Wiegert and Gaeta were second-teamers in 2007.
Washburn was fourth in the poll with 47 points. The Lady Blues have senior forward Jessica Mainz, two-time MIAA Most Valuable Player (as well as Defensive Player of the Year in women's basketball) along with the other 10 starters back from 2007. Mainz (15g, 7a, 37 pts.) moved into third-place on the MIAA's career scoring (97 points) and goals (41) lists last season.
Southwest Baptist was fifth in the poll with 34 points, and returns just four starters from last year's squad -- which advanced to the final of the now-defunct MIAA Tournament before losing to Truman. Among the key losses were first-team All-MIAA goalkeeper Aline Lopes (0.73 GAA) and MIAA Freshman of the Year Dominie Emmanuel (10g, 2a, 22 pts.).
Missouri Southern, with the league's top scorer coming back in senior midfielder Nikki Llewellyn (18g, 3a, 39 pts.), was sixth in the poll with 31 points. The Lions were followed by Northwest Missouri State (20 points), Missouri Western (17 points) and Emporia State (8 points).
As noted, the postseason tournament has been discontinued to allow flexibility in scheduling the double round-robin regular season slate. The team or teams with the best regular-season record will be declared MIAA champions.
The MIAA will compete in the South Central Region along with the Lone Star Conference and Heartland Conference in 2008.
Regular season play starts Friday, Aug. 29, with the first MIAA matches slated for Thursday, Sept. 11.
| 2008 MIAA Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll | ||
| School |
Pts.
|
|
| 1. | Nebraska-Omaha (4) |
60
|
| 2. | Central Missouri (3) |
54
|
| 3. | Truman State (2) |
53
|
| 4. | Washburn |
47
|
| 5. | Southwest Baptist |
34
|
| 6. | Missouri Southern |
31
|
| 7. | Northwest Missouri State |
20
|
| 8. | Missouri Western |
17
|
| 9. | Emporia State |
8
|
| Points awarded on an 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Coaches could not vote for their own school. |
||
Wednesday, August 26
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
