Detroit Tabbed as Favorite in Women's Soccer Preseason Poll

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Detroit women’s soccer team received six of the eight available first-place votes as the League’s coaches voted the Titans the preseason favorite in the Horizon League. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own squad. 

 

The Titans ended Milwaukee’s 13-year streak of being the preseason favorite in the conference. 

 

Detroit returns 15 letterwinners - including reigning Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year Kaitlyn Quarrell - from last year’s team that earned a share of the regular season championship and was the No. 2 seed entering the conference tournament.

 

Also back for the Titans this season are three other players who earned accolades from the League last year. Alyssa Riley joined Quarrell as Horizon League First-Team selection last season, while Abby McCollum was a Second-Team selection and Heather Brown was a member of the All-Newcomer Team. 

 

Wright State with one first-place vote and 38 points overall, edged out Milwaukee for second place in the preseason poll. The Raiders advanced to the championship match in the Horizon League tournament last season, before falling to UWM 1-0 in double overtime. Wright State returns to Second-Team selections from a year ago in junior Allie Metzler and senior Brooke McCurdy. 

 

Milwaukee, which garnered one first-place vote and 36 points overall, will be after its 14th consecutive season with at least a share of the Horizon League regular-season crown and return four players who earned All-League accolades last season. Juniors Kelly Lewers and Kelsey Holbert were both First-Team All-League selections last season, while juniors Krissy Dorre and Amy Kauffung were on the second-team. 

 

Oakland, preparing for its first season in the Horizon League, was picked fourth in the preseason poll. The Golden Grizzlies return seven starters and 21 letterwinners overall from last year’s squad that went 11-6-4 and won the regular season crown in the Summit League. Kyla Kellermann, the 2012 Summit League Offensive Player of the Year, finished last season with nine goals and four assists. 

 

Valparaiso finished fifth in the poll, one point behind OU, with 31 points. The Crusaders return seven starters and 15 letterwinners from last season’s team, including a trio of players who were on the All-Newcomer team last season in Rita Craven, Jenny Fassbinder and Sarrah Ludwig.

 

Youngstown State was tabbed to grab the last spot in the Horizon League Tournament, narrowly edging out Green Bay for the sixth spot in the poll with 16 points. The Penguins, who will begin play this season in the brand new Farmers National Bank Field, return Second-Team All-League and All-Newcomer selection Chelsea Haney, as well as Tyesha Kizer, who joined Haney on the All-Newcomer team.  

 

Green Bay and Cleveland State rounded out the poll, receiving 16, 15 and nine points, respectively.

 

The women’s soccer regular season begins on Friday, Aug. 23. The Horizon League Tournament will feature the top six teams in the League beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at campus sites and continuing at the venue of the No. 1 seed Nov. 8-10.