2017 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM

2017 PacWest Women’s Soccer Poll
1.	Azusa Pacific (10)	189
2.	California Baptist	169
3.	Concordia (1)	160
4.	Point Loma (3)	152
5.	Dixie State	144
6.	Biola	114
7.	Fresno Pacific	113
8.	Dominican	103
9.	Notre Dame de Namur	90
10.	Hawai’i Pacific	75
11.	Hawai’i Hilo	60
12.	Chaminade	38
13.	Academy of Art	35
14.	Holy Names	28
First-place votes in parenthesis

IRVINE, Calif. – Defending PacWest Champion Azusa Pacific was selected as the preseason favorite for the 2017 women’s soccer season, earning 10 of a possible 14 first-place votes.

Dixie State’s senior forward Darian Murdock is the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year. Murdock tallied 12 goals in her junior season to earn recognition as the 2016 PacWest Player of the Year and was named to the D2CCA All-West Region Team.
 
After helping the Cougars hold opponents to four goals during the conference portion of the 2016 season, senior Hayley Patterson is the Preseason Defender of the Year. She was the PacWest’s 2016 Defender of the Year and earned D2CCA First-Team All-American honors.
 
The Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year is California Baptist’s Sara Escobedo, who led all returning goalkeepers in the conference in shutouts with six. The senior also registered a .862 goals-against average with 74 saves.
 
Azusa Pacific went unbeaten in its last 12 regular-season games of the 2016 season to earn its second PacWest title in program history. The Cougars reached the NCAA Division II West Regional semifinals with a 3-1 win over Sonoma State. This season, the Cougars will be under the direction of interim head coach Don Lawrence, who compiled a 180-120-31 record as Azusa Pacific’s men’s soccer head coach from 1985 to 2000.
 
Along with Patterson, Azusa Pacific also brings back senior Katelyn Rogers, who missed the 2016 season with a medical redshirt after scoring a league-best 11 goals as a junior in 2015. Sophomore Emilie Allum joins both of her teammates on the All-PacWest Preseason Team after helping the Cougars record seven consecutive shutouts as a freshman.
 
California Baptist was picked second in the preseason coaches’ poll, matching its finish in the 2016 season. The Lancers won seven-consecutive matches to earn a shot at the conference title on the final day of the regular season.
 
Escobedo is joined on the Preseason All-PacWest Team by junior Desarae Felix, who recorded a team-best five assists and took 51 shots. Sophomore Symone Mack was also selected to the all-conference team after anchoring a defensive line that help opponents to 16 goals in 2016.
 
Concordia, now in its first year of NCAA playoff eligibility, is picked to finish third in the preseason poll with one first-place vote. The Eagles handed Azusa Pacific its only conference loss in 2016 and backed that up with a 2-0 win over California Baptist a week later. They are represented by sophomore McKenna Carrillo on the Preseason All-PacWest Team. The junior forward has 11 career goals and was a second team All-PacWest selection in 2016, helping the Eagles to the conference’s best average margin of victory at 1.06.
 
Point Loma is selected to take fourth place and received three first-place votes. The Sea Lions led the conference standings with just 10 days left in the season thanks to a seven-match winning streak before falling short of the conference title in the end.
 
The Sea Lions have three All-PacWest Preseason selections, including senior defenders Morgan Pearce and Keagan Bolibol, who helped PLNU post a league-best 0.56 goals against average in 2016. The trio is completed by 2014 PacWest Freshman of the Year Sami Swanson, who is also a three-time All-PacWest honoree.
 
With the Preseason Player of the Year in Murdock on the roster, Dixie State is picked fifth in the preseason coaches’ poll. After a slow start to the 2016 season, the Trailblazers caught fire midway through the year with seven-consecutive wins, including five shutouts. Dixie State has six starters from that team back on the roster in 2017.
 
Ahead of its first year competing in the PacWest, Biola is selected sixth by the coaches after going unbeaten in the regular season last year as a member of the Golden State Athletic Conference. The Eagles return junior Madyson Brown, who was named an NAIA Second Team All-American last year after scoring three goals, while leading a defensive line that produced 11 shutouts.
 
Fresno Pacific is picked seventh followed by Dominican in eighth. Notre Dame de Namur is picked ninth and has three representatives on the All-PacWest Preseason Team in sophomore forward Susan Whitney, sophomore midfielder Vanessa Sanchez and senior defender Alina Martinez. Whitney helped the Argonauts record a league-best two goals per game in 2016, scoring eight goals along with a conference-leading 11 assists to earn recognition as the Freshman of the Year.
 
Hawai’i Pacific wraps up the top 10 followed by Hawai’i Hilo. Chaminade finished in a three-way tie for 10th place in the PacWest in 2016 with its companions from the Hawaiian Islands and is picked 12th in the preseason poll. Academy of Art is picked 13th ahead of Holy Names, who defeated the Urban Knights 1-0 last year.

The season will begin on Aug. 31 with 11 teams in action, including Notre Dame de Namur taking on defending national champion Western Washington, which needed an overtime goal to overcome the Argonauts last year. Fresno Pacific will also host that evening Sonoma State, which reached the NCAA West Regional last year.