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Fordham Women's Soccer Picked Eighth in Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches' Poll
Aug. 8, 2012
Newport News, Va. - The Atlantic 10 Conference released its 2012 women's soccer preseason poll this afternoon, which found Fordham picked eighth out of the 16-team league, receiving one first-place vote. The Atlantic 10 has an expanded look heading into this season. Not only did the league add Butler and VCU as conference members, but the Atlantic 10 also expanded the championship tournament from six teams to eight teams. The Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship will be held November 1-4 at the University of Rhode Island's Soccer Complex in Kingston, R.I. In the preseason poll, Dayton, coming off of their third consecutive Atlantic 10 title, has been predicted to once again win the A-10 Championship. Richmond and La Salle, who finished with the best 2011 conference record, round out the top three, respectively. Dayton received 13 of the 16 first place votes, while La Salle, VCU, and Fordham each received one. In its inaugural season with the Atlantic 10, VCU places fourth in the predicted order of finish, followed by Massachusetts (fifth), Charlotte (sixth), St. Bonaventure (seventh), Fordham (eighth) and Saint Louis (ninth). Butler, also making its A-10 debut, comes in at 10th, while Xavier is predicted 11th, followed by Rhode Island (12th), Saint Joseph's (13th), George Washington (14th), Duquesne (15th) and Temple (16th). Fordham returns nine starters from last season, including the Rams' top two scorers in sophomore Kristina Maksuti and senior Annie Worden. Maksuti, an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection, led the Rams with nine goals and five assists for 23 points, while also registering four game-winning goals. Worden notched six goals and three assists for 15 points, as a junior, just one point shy of her career-high. The Rams also return plenty of experience in the back, which includes senior goalkeeper Rachel Suther, junior defenders Kaitlyn Carballeira, Mary Solimine, Casey Nowakowski, and midfielder Kaitlin Abrams. Suther played in a career-high 17 games a year ago and made a career-best 78 saves, as she solidified her spot as the Rams' top netminder. Between Carballeira, Solimine, Nowakowski, and Abrams, the group had only one player miss a game, breeding plenty of familiarity and confidence.
The Fordham women's soccer team opens the season with one exhibition game at Seton Hall on August 11th, before heading out to Michigan on August 17th for the season opener against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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