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Women's Soccer Nipped By LIU Post For Top Spot In ECC Preseason Coaches Poll

Purple Knights Garner 90 Points Just One Behind The Pioneers; Senior Goalkeeper Julia Hansson Selected Preseason Defensive Player of the Year For Second Straight Season

Women's Soccer Nipped By LIU Post For Top Spot In ECC Preseason Coaches Poll
August 28, 2013

Central Islip, N.Y.-In a tightly contested vote, LIU Post came in one point ahead of Bridgeport as the coaches' favorite in the 2013 East Coast Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Poll.  Sophomore forward Susanne Vistnes (Randaberg, Norway) from LIU Post takes home the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year award and Bridgeport's senior goalkeeper Julia Hansson (Tocksfors, Sweden) was voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

With four first place votes and 91 points, the 2012 ECC Regular Season Champion, LIU Post Pioneers, take home the top spot in the preseason poll. The Pioneers return eight starters from a team that finished 15-3-2 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2012.  LIU Post also starts the year No. 24 in the NSCAA's Preseason Top 25 poll.

Like the Pioneers, Bridgeport also received four first place votes but finished with 90 points to fall one point short of the top spot. The Purple Knights finished 2012 with an 11-6-2 record and an appearance in the ECC Championship Game. However, last season marked the end of five consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament for Bridgeport.
 
After a second straight ECC title last season and their first ever appearance in the NCAA East Region Final, Dowling College rounds out the top three with 75 points. The Golden Lions also join LIU Post in the preseason national rankings, coming in at No. 22 in the NSCAA ledger.
 
Vistnes is awarded the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year award after an amazing freshman season a year ago. In 20 games, Vistnes led the ECC with 19 goals and 47 points, while also finishing tied for second with nine assists. Both her goal and point totals were among the top four in all of Division II. Her amazing totals led to being honored as the ECC Rookie of the Year, the ECC Offensive Player of the Year, and a spot on the NSCAA All-America Third Team.
 
Hansson takes home the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honor for the second consecutive season. A First Team All-American and ECC Goalkeeper of the Year in 2011, Hansson posted solid numbers again in 2012. In 19 games between the pipes for the Purple Knights, she posted 11 wins, 59 saves, and led the conference with seven shutouts.
 

2013 ECC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll

School Pts. 2012 Record
1. LIU Post (4) 91 15-3-2
2. Bridgeport (4) 90 11-6-2
3. Dowling 75 14-4-3
4. Queens 66 10-4-4
5. Molloy (1) 57 4-10-1
6. Mercy (1) 51 5-12-1
7. Roberts Wesleyan * 45 10-8-1
8. NYIT 26 6-10-1
9. St. Thomas Aquinas        25        5-9-2
10. Daemen * 34 11-9-0

 

( ) - first place votes
* - ineligible for conference tournament as NCAA provisional member

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About the ECC

Founded as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989 and rechristened the East Coast Conference in July 2006, the ECC was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way. The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes, which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits. East Coast Conference members include: University of Bridgeport (Bridgeport, Conn.); University of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); Daemen College (Amherst, N.Y.); Dowling College (Oakdale, N.Y.); LIU Post (Brookville, N.Y.); Mercy College (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy College (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); New York Institute of Technology (Old Westbury, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); Roberts Wesleyan College (Rochester, N.Y.) and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.). Associate Members include: Chestnut Hill College (Philadelphia, Pa.), Dominican College (Orangeburg, N.Y.), and Georgian Court University (Lakewood, N.J.).

The ECC sponsors the following championship sports: baseball; men's and women's basketball; men's and women's cross country; men's and women's lacrosse; softball; men's and women's tennis; men's and women's indoor track and field; men's and women's outdoor track and field; men's and women's soccer; and women's volleyball.

The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.