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August 23, 2010

USC Aiken Women’s Soccer Tabbed 10th in PBC Preseason Poll

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The USC Aiken women’s soccer team was tabbed to finish 10th in the Peach Belt Conference preseason women’s soccer coaches poll released by the league office on Monday, Aug. 23.

Despite being chosen to finish 10th in the PBC preseason poll, the USC Aiken women’s soccer program is headed in the right direction under 2006 Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year Sue Vodicka. The sixth-year head coach lost 11 letterwinners from her 2009 side, but she also returns 10 letterwinners in 2010.

Coupled with an incoming class of 10, things are looking up for the USC Aiken women’s soccer program. The 10 newcomers will be a part of a youth movement for the Pacers that will try and continue the Pacers’ ideas on becoming one of the top programs in the extremely tough Peach Belt Conference.

The 2010 season will give Pacer fans an idea of what is to come, but it also will be a learning year as 17 of USC Aiken’s 23 players on the roster currently are underclassmen.

The 2009 USC Aiken women’s soccer team was honored as one of the top 20 most improved NCAA Division II women’s soccer team. The rankings are done by calculating a team’s improvement by comparing its final 2009 rating to an adjusted 2008 rating. A team’s rating roughly equates to net goals (goals scored minus goals against). The criteria allowed the Pacers to obtain a 1.34 rating to leave them with the 15th-best improvement in all of Division II women’s soccer.

USC Aiken improved its win total by three games in 2009, finishing with a 6-11 record overall (2-8 PBC).

To try and continue USC Aiken’s progression on the pitch, Vodicka welcomes back six starters, including goalkeeper Nicole Westphal and 2009 PBC Freshman of the Year candidate Jenny Pineiro, who led the Pacers with seven goals last season.

The last fall athletic team to open regular season action, USC Aiken’s women’s soccer team will begin its 2010 regular season at home on Wednesday, Sept. 8 against Belmont Abbey. Kick-off in the match is slated for 5 p.m. at the “Pacer Pit.”

For the fifth straight year, the Columbus State women’s soccer team has been selected as the Peach Belt Conference preseason favorite. The Cougars were unanimous favorites in the top spot, receiving all 10 first-place votes they were eligible for to finish ahead of second-place Armstrong Atlantic State. North Georgia was third in the poll with Lander in fourth and GCSU in fifth. Montevallo (sixth), UNC Pembroke (seventh), Flagler (eighth), Clayton State (ninth), USC Aiken (10th) and Georgia Southwestern rounded out the voting.

Columbus State, ranked No. 12 in the NSCAA preseason top 25, won their fifth consecutive regular-season championship in 2009 and is 38-2-3 against league opponents in the regular season during that run. Armstrong Atlantic State won their first-ever PBC Tournament championship in 2009 and are ranked No. 19 in the nation in the NSCAA preseason poll. 

The 2010 coaches poll is below. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.

  1. Columbus State 100
  2. Armstrong Atlantic State 88
  3. North Georgia 75
  4. Lander 68
  5. GCSU 61
  6. Montevallo 54
  7. UNC Pembroke 50
  8. Flagler 48
  9. Clayton State 31
  10. USC Aiken 20
  11. Georgia Southwestern 10

Peach Belt Conference Preseason Team-by-Team Preview