Soccer coaches of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) have voted Behrend’s men’s and women’s soccer teams as preseason favorites to finish first in each team’s respective conference standings.

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The Behrend women’s team received 10 out of 10 first place votes in the preseason poll voted on by the women’s soccer head coaches of the AMCC. The Lady Lions have won the AMCC title 12 times and have been the reigning AMCC champions for the past six consecutive seasons.

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According to the preseason polls, it would appear that the women’s squad is destined for yet another conference title, but the Lady Lions were off to a rocky start just days into their preseason. Unexpectedly, both of the team’s goalkeepers on roster, Mackenzie Troyan and Sam Morlacci, left the team due to personal reasons, leaving the team without a goalkeeper until the team brought back Ania Gorski, a Harborcreek-native and former Behrend player who previously left the program after her freshman season. As if that were not enough to worry about, starting Junior midfielder Catherine Eichenlaub, a 2016 Third Team All-Conference player, suffered a lower leg injury during preseason that may force her to miss the 2017 season.

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Behrend’s women’s soccer team lost just two starters to graduation, which typically is a sign that the Lady Lions will once again be a dominant team in the AMCC. However, Alex Bilka, the program’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points, was one of those starters, and she her presence will not be easily replaced.

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Seniors Olivia Belack and Rachel Weyland are hoping to help the team push past these early obstacles to win their seventh consecutive championship. Belack, a 2016 Scholar All-American forward, and Weyland, the 2016 ECAC and AMCC Defensive Player of the Year, were voted by AMCC coaches as the conference’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, respectively.

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The women’s soccer team’s season begins at home versus Ithaca on Friday, Sept. 1 in the Herb Lauffer Tournament.

The Behrend men’s soccer team is also looking to repeat as AMCC champions, and they are favorites to do so according to the AMCC preseason poll, in which they received seven out of 10 first-place votes from AMCC coaches.

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Despite being early conference favorites, the team has five starters to replace from last season’s starting lineup. Last year’s senior starters included All-American defender Evan Augustine, All-Conference midfielder Sean Gallagher, All-Conference forward Anthony Crivelli and All-Conference defender Ryan Thorsen. Additionally, starting freshman defender Macen DiPaolo left the team due to personal reasons. These departures leave large gaps in the team’s lineup, especially defensively.

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Behrend’s men’s soccer team will lean heavily on returning starters Chris Ralph, Matt Baleno, Nick McKee, Josh Kolarac, Matt Dziadosz, and Aaron Harris. Ralph, a 2016 All-American, will return as the team’s goalkeeper. After a stunning debut season in 2016, Ralph was voted as AMCC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and he will be looking to continue his success after playing this summer with the Erie Commodores, a National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) team.

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The men’s soccer team begins their season at home against DeSales on Saturday, Sept. 2 in the Herb Lauffer Tournament.