ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon women’s soccer team has been picked to finish fifth out of 15 teams in the 2010 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Coaches Preseason Poll released Thursday afternoon.
West Chester is the preseason favorite for the sixth consecutive season, securing nine of the 15 first-place votes. PSAC Western Division and NCAA Division II Atlantic Region champion California (Pa.) earned five first-place votes to finish second. Indiana (Pa.), Kutztown and Gannon completed the top five. Kutztown received the final first-place vote.
Slippery Rock, Mercyhurst, Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg and Edinboro rounded out the top 10. Shippensburg, Millersville, Lock Haven, Mansfield and Clarion finished the voting.
The PSAC returns to a single-division format in 2010. The top eight teams will qualify for the post-season tournament, beginning with the PSAC Quarterfinals November 2 at four different sites. The top remaining seed will then host the PSAC Final Four November 5-6.
Gannon returns 12 letterwinners and 10 starters from last year’s 10-7-2 squad. The Lady Knights finished fourth in the PSAC Western Division with an 8-5-1 conference mark. The squad later played in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in school history, falling to Indiana (Pa.) via penalty kicks in the first round.
Ninth-year head coach Colin Petersen’s program returns its top two scorers in sophomore
Tenyka Francique (Brampton, Ontario/International) and junior
Amanda Sharbaugh (Sarver, Pa./Knoch). Francique was named PSAC Western Division Freshman of the Year after recording 12 goals, four assists, 28 points and three game-winning goals last season.
One year earlier, Sharbaugh was named PSAC Western Division Freshman of the Year in 2008. The forward was second on the team last season in goals (10) and points (27) while adding seven assists and two game-winning goals. She already ranks second all-time at Gannon in career goals (25) and points (62). Her 12 career assists rank fifth in school history, 11 shy of Courtney Rowan’s school record.
Sabrina Chirco (Brampton, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) returns to protect the goal. The redshirt senior started every match last season, producing a 1.20 goals against average and .826 save percentage. She is Gannon’s all-time leader in career goals against average (1.10) and career shutouts (13), as well as ranking second in career victories (21) and sixth in career saves (178).
Gannon kicks off the 2010 season Friday, August 27 at Cleveland State. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. It will mark the program’s first regular-season match against an NCAA Division I program since Gannon dropped a 3-1 home decision to St. Bonaventure in 1992. The Lady Knights are 6-10 all-time against NCAA Division I programs, but all 16 matches were played between 1987 and 1992.
For the complete 2010 PSAC Women’s Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, please
click here.