Wednesday, August 21, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – After wrapping up the 2012 GNAC title with a conference record of 12-2-0, Western Washington has received five of eight first place votes and 61 total points to sit atop the 2013 GNAC preseason coaches poll. 

The Vikings had their hearts broken in overtime of the Division II Regional Final last season, falling 2-1 to UC San Diego in dramatic fashion.

Viking head coach Travis Connell enters his 11^th season with the program, and is ready to prove that his squad is worthy of the No. 12 ranking it received earlier this month from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

With the return of GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Brina Sych and first-team forward Kristin Maris, the Vikings begin the 2013 season in excellent position to pick up right where they left off.

Landing second in the GNAC preseason poll and securing the No. 23 ranking in the NSCAA poll is Seattle Pacific University, which collected the other three first-place votes.

The Falcons finished second in the GNAC in 2012 and advanced to the regional semifinals before falling 2-1 to eventual champion UC San Diego.

SPU returns 10 starters including GNAC First Team defensive standout Shayla Page, and Second Team scoring machine Ali Martin.

After an impressive showing in 2012 behind second-team all-GNAC pick Heidi Greenback, Montana State Billings checks in at No. 3 in the preseason poll.

Greenback returns after recording a team-high eight goals and provides the Yellowjackets with one of the premier strikers in the conference.

After being voted 2012 GNAC Coach of the Year, Steve Ancheta lands his Western Oregon Wolves in the upper half of the preseason poll with 35 total points.

WOU has embarked on a steady climb up the conference rankings over the past four seasons, and Ancheta has turned the program around after just two seasons at the helm.

The Wolves will rely somewhat on fresh faces this season with just four starters returning, but its third place finish in goals (25) last season suggests WOU will be a serious contender throughout 2013.

Trailing WOU by a single point in this year’s poll is Central Washington, which tied for sixth in the 2012 final GNAC standings.

The Duty sisters – Tarah and Lauren – return to the Wildcats’ lineup, with the prior earning first-team all-GNAC honors as a defender and the latter scoring two goals as a freshman in 2012.

Saint Martin’s checks in at No. 6 in the poll with 33 points and will rely on honorable mention all-GNAC pick Ashley Richardson to lead the way.

The Saints finished fifth in the GNAC in 2012 and could easily shuffle places with WOU and CWU in what promises to be a tight race for the fourth and final post-season bid.

Falling into seventh place in the preseason poll is Northwest Nazarene, which finished in a deadlock with CWU at sixth place last season in GNAC play.

The Crusaders return 11 letter winners and six starters, including Jenny Field who scored a team-high seven goals during her junior campaign.

Simon Fraser head coach Shelley Howieson is the longest tenured skipper in the conference, however she finds her Clan at the bottom of the preseason poll.

SFU scored just two goals last season and went winless in GNAC play. There is hope that the return of seven starters will give the Clan a chance to improve on their 2012 record.