NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - Three-time defending champion Thomas Jefferson University was picked first in the 2022 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll, which was announced on Tuesday by Commissioner Dan Mara. The Rams, who also advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, earned 156 points in the voting and 12 of the 13 first-place votes. The voting for the poll was conducted by the league's 13 head coaches in the sport.
The Wildcats reached the CACC Tournament Championship last year before falling to Thomas Jefferson. The Wildcats went 12-5-3 overall last year, earning the No. 4 seed in the CACC Tournament with a 7-2-2 CACC record. They beat Goldey-Beacom in the quarterfinals and Georgian Court in the semifinals before bowing out looking for their second ever CACC Tournament Championship.
Holy Family University, which shared the CACC regular season title with Dominican University last season, was tabbed second in the 2022 preseason poll with 132 points. Wilmington University, which reached the CACC final last fall, rounded out the top three with 127 points and one first-place nod. Dominican was fourth with 121 points.
Overall, the top-six teams in the preseason standings earned over 100 points apiece in the voting. University of Bridgeport received 115 points, as the Purple Knights enter their first season in the CACC in 2022. Goldey-Beacom College was sixth with 108 points.
The Wildcats' season gets underway next Friday, August 26, when they welcome Bentley, Adelphi, and Molloy to the WU Athletics Complex during the opening weekend.
The regular season will be a buildup to the 2022 CACC Championship, which will begin on Monday, Oct. 31 with the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals and championship final on Nov. 4 and 6, at Holy Family University in Philadelphia. The quarterfinals will be held at the sites of the highest seeds. The winner of the CACC Championship will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament in late November at a site to be determined.
Sport sponsorship within the conference will rise from 12 schools to 13 for the 2022 campaign, as Bridgeport enters the CACC as a new full-time member beginning in the 2022-23 academic year.
2022 CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Thomas Jefferson University 156 (12)
2. Holy Family University 132
3. Wilmington University 127 (1)
4. Dominican University 121
5. University of Bridgeport 115
6. Goldey-Beacom College 108
7. Caldwell University 89
8. Georgian Court University 80
9. Post University 75
T-10. Chestnut Hill College 51
T-10. Nyack College 51
12. Bloomfield College 33
13. Felician University 32
() - First-Place Votes