BOSTON – Stony Brook is the unanimous choice to repeat as women’s soccer champions per the preseason coaches’ poll that was unveiled on Monday afternoon.
Winners of consecutive championships and three of the last four, the Seawolves earned all nine possible first-place votes and 81 points. It marks the second-straight year they have been unanimous #AEWSOC favorites. Reigning regular-season champion UMass Lowell received the final first-place vote and checks in at number two with 67 points. Binghamton, which advanced to the #AEWSOC championship game in April, earned the third-most points at 61. Here is the full poll:
2021 America East Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll
No. School Points (1st Place Votes)
1. Stony Brook 81 (9)
2. UMass Lowell 67 (1)
3 Binghamton 61
4. New Hampshire 54
5. UAlbany 52
6. Hartford 50
7. Vermont 28
T8. Maine 20
NJIT 20
10. UMBC 17
A pair of major award winners from the spring season return for the fall as Striker of the Year Jasmine Colbert is back for UAlbany and Defender of the Year Dunja Mostarac takes the pitch for UMass Lowell. 2019 Striker of the Year and two-time first-team All-Conference choice Alyssa Francese is also among the key returners as she prepares for a fifth year at Stony Brook.
The season begins Thursday, Aug. 19 with eight teams in action. Hartford will be the first to kick off against Delaware State at 2 p.m. Conference play begins Sunday, Sept. 19 as the league slate returns to a single round robin. Full schedule
The 2021 #AEWSOC championship will consist of the league’s top six teams and begins with the quarterfinals scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 31. The higher seed will host each game throughout the postseason.
Fans will once again be able to watch the majority of #AEWSOC this season. Select games will air on The AE on ESPN while others will air on AmericaEast.TV. Those games will be available on computers, OTT devices and the brand new America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.
Follow the @AEDigitalNet Twitter account to stay up-to-date on America East women’s lacrosse news all season long and use #AEWSOC to join the conversation.
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