Wayne State was picked 11th in the 2017 NSIC Preseason women’s soccer coaches’ Poll released Monday.
The Wildcats collected 78 points in voting conducted by league coaches in this year’s poll. Wayne State returns six starters from last year’s team that was 9-6-3 overall and tied for eighth in the NSIC with a 6-6-3 league mark. It was the most wins for a Wildcat soccer team since 2006 and the six league wins were the most for Wayne State since the 2005 season.
Minnesota State is the preseason favorite to win the NSIC with 217 points and 11 first-place votes followed by Augustana in second with 210 points and the remaining five first-place votes. Bemidji State came in third at 188 points with Minot State fourth (187) and St. Cloud State fifth with 165 points. Minnesota Duluth was sixth with 160 points, followeåd by Northern State (134), Concordia-St. Paul (119), Upper Iowa (107) and Winona State (94) rounding out the top 10.
Wildcats Brooke Buzzell and Alexis Storthers were named the team’s Players to Watch for the upcoming season.
Buzzell, a 5-foot-4 midfielder, is listed as Wayne State’s offensive player to watch. The Monument, Colo. native led the Wildcats in scoring last season with five goals and one assist for 11 points while playing in 17 games with 10 starts.
Strothers, a 5-foot-4 defender from Gurnee, Ill., was selected as the team’s defensive player to watch. She appeared in all 18 matches last season and recorded one goal while ranking second on the team in minutes played (1,609).
Wayne State opens the 2017 season on Thursday, Aug. 31 at Augustana in a 5 p.m. match, followed by the home opener on Sunday, Sept. 3 against Colorado Christian at 11 a.m.
