BOSTON – Following one of the most dramatic championships in America East women’s soccer history, Binghamton was picked as the conference’s preseason favorite by a single point ahead of the 2023 season. The Bearcats edged defending tournament champion New Hampshire in a vote of the league’s coaches, which was announced on Thursday afternoon.
Binghamton, the 2022 regular season champion, earned 60 points and four first place votes, while the Wildcats also had four first place votes and totaled 59 points overall. Maine took third with 47 points and the final first place vote. UMass Lowell (44 points) and UAlbany (38 points) rounded out the top five. View the complete poll below.
Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll
| Pl. |
School |
Points (1st) |
| 1. |
Binghamton |
60 (4) |
| 2. |
New Hampshire |
59 (4) |
| 3. |
Maine |
47 (1) |
| 4. |
UMass Lowell |
44 |
| 5. |
UAlbany |
38 |
| 6. |
NJIT |
27 |
| 7. |
Vermont |
21 |
| 8. |
UMBC |
19 |
| 9. |
Bryant |
9 |
What to Watch For:
- Binghamton returns five of its top six scorers from a season ago, including America East Midfielder of the Year Olivia McKnight and her twin sister Victoria. Also back is first-team all-conference defender Lexi Vegoda.
- Junior Kaitlyn Williams returns for Binghamton in the net, where she went 9-3-5 with a 1.53 GAA, including a 6-1-1 record in conference play.
- New Hampshire was a single point behind Binghamton after edging the Bearcats in penalty kicks to clinch the 2022 America East Tournament Championship. The Wildcats return three of their top scorers from last season, including top scorer Meghan Guarante who ranked third in the league in points (21).
- Maine received the final first place and 47 points after becoming the first #AEWSOC program since 2012 to not suffer a loss in conference play while play a complete conference schedule.
- UMBC’s Rick Stainton is the lone new coach in the conference this year as the Retrievers seek to get back to the conference tournament.
The season begins on Thursday, Aug. 17 with all nine teams in action. Binghamton travels to face a tough Fairfield squad while New Hampshire hosts Stonehill and Maine welcomes Le Moyne to highlight that day's action. The Wildcats then head west to play at Minnesota on Sunday, Aug 20 while Binghamton hosts Canisius. The 36-game conference slate begins Sunday, Sept. 17 and concludes on Oct. 26. Full schedule
Fans will once again be able to watch nearly every #AEWSOC contest 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 America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.
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