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2012 NWC Women's Soccer Coaches' Preseason
Poll:
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2011 records
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School
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(1st)
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Pts.
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All
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NWC
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1. Puget Sound (Wash.)
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(6)
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66
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14-3-3
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12-2-2
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2. Linfield (Ore.)
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(3)
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62
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14-3-3
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11-2-3
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3. Whitworth (Wash.)
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46
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8-6-4
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8-4-4
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Willamette (Ore.)
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46
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11-8-1
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10-5-1
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5. Pacific (Ore.)
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36
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10-6-4
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7-5-4
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6. Whitman (Wash.)
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28
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8-10-2
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6-8-2
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7. Pacific Lutheran (Wash.)
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21
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4-13-1
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3-12-1
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8. George Fox (Ore.)
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15
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2-12-6
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2-10-4
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9. Lewis & Clark (Ore.)
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13
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3-15-2
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2-13-1
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(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on
9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Coaches cannot vote for their own
team)
The University of Puget Sound is favored to build upon its
decade of dominance in Northwest Conference women's soccer,
according to the 2012 preseason poll of conference coaches. UPS
received six out of nine first place votes and is pursuing its
eleventh consecutive NWC title.
The Loggers, who tallied 66 points in the poll, will be lead by
junior goalkeeper Kara Merfeld, the lone First Team All-NWC honoree
returning from last season. She will get help from sophomore
forward Robin Vieira, who received Second Team All-NWC honors last
season.
Linfield took second in the poll with 62 points, including the
remaining three first place votes. The Wildcats will be led
by midfielder Christine Tamamoto and the 2010 NWC Offensive Player
of the Year Emily Fellows, who had seven goals in six games in 2011
before suffering a season-ending injury.
Whitworth and Willamette each tallied 46 points to tie for third
in the poll. The Pirates welcome back two senior Second Team
All-NWC selections in defender Kelsey Griswold and midfielder
Mackenzie Grow. Willamette will be led by 2011 Coach of the
Year Hillary Arthur and senior midfielder Andi Rowan, who has
received Second Team All-NWC the past three seasons.
Pacific (Ore.) finishes fifth in the poll with 36 points.
The Boxers return several starters from last season, including
senior Brittany Hartmann and sophomore Kailee Green.
Whitman and Pacific Lutheran follow in sixth and seventh place
with 28 and 21 points, respectively. Standout defender Erin
Flannery will lead Whitman.
George Fox (15 points) is eighth. Melanie Gaither, who led the
team with eight goals in 2011, will be back.
Lewis & Clark rounds out the poll with 13 points. The
Pioneers will look to senior Honorable Mention All-NWC selections
Traci Nakamura and Gina Watkins for leadership.
The 2012 NWC season gets underway on August
31st.