The Piedmont College women's soccer team was selected in a tie for first in the USA South West Division Preseason Coaches poll released earlier Wednesday. This season marks the first year that the conference will split into divisions in women's soccer as the league welcomes new members Agnes Scott College, Salem College and Wesleyan College.
The Lady Lions were selected to finish first in the West Division in a tie with Maryville College. Piedmont received five first place votes while Maryville took three with both teams earning a total of 45 points overall in the poll. The Lady Lions finished second in the USA South regular season standings but captured the USA South Tournament title for the second time in the past three years while the Scots finished the 2015 season third in the regular season standings.
Salem College was selected third in the West Division taking 38 points in the poll while Covenant was not far behind in fourth with 31 points. The final spots in the West Division belong to Agnes Scott in fifth (25 points), LaGrange in sixth (18 points), Huntingdon in seventh (13 points) and Wesleyan taking the eighth spot (nine points).
The East Division also had a tie at the top as Meredith and Methodist both earned four first place votes and a total of 46 points.
Each divisional preseason poll only includes votes from coaches within that particular division with head coaches not voting for their own teams in the balloting.
The 2016 USA South Tournament will once again be hosted on campus sites with the top six-seeded teams from each division advancing to the tournament. The Lady Lions begin the season on the road for tournament play in Danville, Kentucky taking on DePauw University and and #5 Centre College on September 3 and 4, respectively.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/8/435950/piedmont-womens-soccer-among-favorites-for-usa-south-crown