W&M, VCU Women Favored In CAA.
Defending CAA champion W&M received four first-place votes and 75 total points to claim the top spot in the poll, while VCU earned five first-place votes and was picked second with 74 points. James Madison got one first-place vote and was third with 66 points, while Hofstra, which finished first in the regular season a year ago, was fourth with 57 points. Delaware and George Mason were tied for fifth in the poll, UNC Wilmington was seventh, Old Dominion and Towson were tied for eighth and Drexel was 10th.
The Tribe returns seven starters off last year’s 14-6-3 squad that rallied from a fourth-place regular-season finish to capture their seventh CAA championship in the past eight years. W&M advanced to the NCAA Women’s College Cup for the 12th consecutive season. Leading the Tribe will be first-team All-CAA forward Taline Tahmassian, who scored a league-high 15 goals in just 16 games last season, and sophomore forward Katie Hogwood (9 goals, 1 assist), who was the CAA Co-Rookie of the Year in 2003.
VCU (10-6-4 overall) reached the CAA championship game for the first time in 2003 and the team’s second-place regular-season finish was the best in school history. Returning for the Rams is senior forward Jen Parsons, who earned CAA Player of the Year honors after tallying a team-high 14 goals and 31 points last season, and is already VCU’s career leader in goals (43) and points (94). First-team All-CAA midfielder Sandra Anger (4 goals, 5 assists) is also among five starters back.
JMU welcomes back eight starters from last season’s 7-10-3 squad. Among the top returnees for the Dukes are senior defender Katy Swindells, a three-time all-conference member, junior forward Kim Argy, who has scored 21 goals over the past two seasons and is a two-time first-team All-CAA selection, and second-team All-CAA picks Christy Metzker and Karly Skladany.
Hofstra compiled the second-best winning percentage in school history a year ago, going 13-3-3. The Pride was third in the nation in scoring defense last season, allowing just nine goals in 19 games and posting 11 shutouts. Senior goalkeeper Rebecca Wachsberger (0.45 GAA, 76 saves) returns along with second-team All-CAA pick Elyse Bizzozzaro (8 goals, 5 assists) and CAA Co-Rookie of the Year Jacki Pollaro.
2004 CAA WOMEN’S SOCCER PRE-SEASON COACHES POLL
1. William & Mary (4 first-place votes) 75
2. Virginia Commonwealth (5 first-place votes) 74
3. James Madison (1 first-place vote) 66
4. Hofstra 57
5. Delaware 45
George Mason 45
7. UNC Wilmington 27
8. Old Dominion 25
Towson 25
10. Drexel 11
(Teams received 9 points for a first-place vote, 8 for second, etc. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.)