Newport News, Va. – (August 14, 2019) – The Atlantic 10 Conference released its preseason predictions for the upcoming women's soccer season today, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
The defending Atlantic 10 champion was picked to finish first in the league, garnering 13 of the 14 first place votes. The only other team to receive a first place vote was George Mason, who was slotted third, behind Saint Louis and VCU.
Saint Joseph's, Massachusetts, and Dayton were picked fourth through sixth, respectively, followed by Fordham in seventh and La Salle in eighth. The top eight finishers in the conference qualify for the conference championship in early November.
After the top eight, George Washington was ninth, followed by Duquesne, Richmond, Davidson, St. Bonaventure, and Rhode Island.
Margaret Roughley
The Atlantic 10 Championship will once again have quarterfinal match-ups at campus sites with the semifinals and final at Saint Louis' Hermann Stadium, November 8-10.
Fordham enters 2019 after making the Atlantic 10 Championship for the third time in the last four seasons. The team returns a plethora of experience from a year ago, led by senior captains
Margaret Roughley and
Juliana Mascelli. Roughley was the team's leading scorer in 2018 with four goals and an assist for nine points, while Mascelli played in all 19 games as a junior, making nine starts.
Other key returnees include senior goalkeeper
Kelly LaMorte, who played every minute for the Rams in 2018, recording eight shutouts and a 0.82 goals against average, and senior
Amanda Miller, who netted two goals and three assists up front.
Fordham also welcomes back three starting defenders who appeared in all 19 games in
Emma Johnson,
Claudia Cuicani, and
Kendall Dandridge, along with midfielders
Saige Bingman and
Morgan Busacca.
The Rams get their 2019 season underway on Thursday, August 22
nd, as they travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to face the 10
th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers.
| 2019 Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Preseason Poll |
| Rank |
Team |
Pts. (1st Place Votes) |
| 1. |
Saint Louis |
192 (13) |
| 2. |
VCU |
176 |
| 3. |
George Mason |
163 (1) |
| 4. |
Saint Joseph's |
161 |
| 5. |
Massachusetts |
135 |
| 6. |
Dayton |
116 |
| 7. |
Fordham |
104 |
| 8. |
La Salle |
98 |
| 9. |
George Washington |
97 |
| 10. |
Duquesne |
83 |
| 11. |
Richmond |
51 |
| 12. |
Davidson |
40 |
| 13. |
St. Bonaventure |
28 |
| 14. |
Rhode Island |
26 |
