Women's soccer tabbed for fourth in SLIAC

The Fontbonne University women's soccer team has been chosen to finish in fourth place in their conference according to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Pre-Season Coaches Poll.

Principia College was chosen to win the conference finishing with 61 points and six first place votes. Principia ended the 2011 season with an overall record of 16-4-1, undefeated in the Conference, won the Conference Tournament, and made it to the NCAA Tournament. 

Webster University was chosen to finish second overall with 56 points and two first place votes in the Pre-Season Coaches' Poll. The Gorloks finished last season second in the conference, with a record of 7-1. Greenville College picked up the remaining first place vote, finishing third in the Pre-Season Coaches' Poll with 50 points. The Panthers completed last season in third place, with a record of 6-2.

Fontbonne University came in fourth, close behind Greenville, with 48 points. The Griffins finished the 2011 season with a 5-3 record in the conference. The Griffins will come out strong this year, with three returning seniors, all of whom were All-SLIAC honorees. Kaniz Abbas, the First Team All-SLIAC honoree, returns as the anchor after having 111 saves last year. Kim Carter returns after finishing third in scoring for the Griffins last season. Carter was named an Honorable Mention All-SLIAC honoree. Julia Conroy is returning in the backfield, after being selected as a First Team All-SLIAC honoree.

Blackburn College, Westminster College (Mo.), Spalding University, MacMurray College and Eureka College round out the final five spots of the Pre-Season Poll. Blackburn came in fifth in the Pre-Season Coaches' Poll, with 39 points. The Beavers finished the 2011 season with a record of 3-5. Westminster fell shortly behind Blackburn with 36 points, ending the Blue Jays in sixth spot. Here is the entire SLIAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll:

2012 SLIAC Women's Soccer
Pre-Season Coaches' Poll
1 - Principia (5)
2 - Webster (2)
3 - Greenville (1)
4 - Fontbonne
5 - Blackburn
6 - Westminster
7 - Spalding
8 - MacMurray
9 - Eureka