The Siena Heights women's soccer team received 38 votes in the NAIA preseason coaches poll, which was announced Wednesday.
The Saints are one of three teams from the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference on the list. Aquinas is ranked No. 6 and Northwestern Ohio is in the receiving-votes category. Aquinas and SHU were WHAC regular-season champions last year.
Last year, Siena Heights ended with a 15-1-6 record while going 9-0-2 in conference play. SHU returns a trio of All-WHAC performers: WHAC Midfielder of the Year Parker Cheney (First Team), Sarah Ammon (Second Team) and Lily Tiplady (Second Team).
The Saints have not lost a game against a WHAC opponent since a WHAC semifinal loss to Aquinas in 2022, meaning SHU is 10-0-3 in its last 13 games versus fellow conference schools (regular season and WHAC postseason).
Siena Heights is set to open its season at home on Aug. 21 when Indiana East visits for a 7 p.m. start. SHU's first WHAC contest is a Sept. 18 date at Lawrence Tech at 7 p.m.
|
RANK |
INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | Cumberlands (Ky.) [14] | 17-1-4 | 533 |
| 2 | William Carey (Miss.) [4] | 24-0-1 | 526 |
| 3 | Spring Arbor (Mich.) | 20-1-2 | 504 |
| 4 | Tennessee Southern | 16-5-3 | 464 |
| 5 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 19-3-1 | 457 |
| 6 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 17-1-4 | 451 |
| 7 | John Brown (Ark.) | 18-3-1 | 387 |
| 8 | Keiser (Fla.) | 13-7-2 | 359 |
| 9 | Life (Ga.) | 15-5-2 | 358 |
| 10 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 16-2-3 | 356 |
| 11 | Hope International (Calif.) | 17-4-2 | 345 |
| 12 | Columbia (Mo.) | 17-2-1 | 320 |
| 13 | Truett-McConnell (Ga.) | 18-3-2 | 280 |
| 14 | SCAD Savannah (Ga.) | 17-2-2 | 271 |
| 15 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 11-4-3 | 245 |
| 16 | Indiana Wesleyan | 15-3-4 | 242 |
| 17 | Hastings (Neb.) | 16-3-3 | 238 |
| 18 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 14-4-5 | 234 |
| 19 | Marian (Ind.) | 13-4-3 | 219 |
| 20 | College of Idaho | 18-2-2 | 201 |
| 21 | OUAZ (Ariz.) | 13-4-2 | 192 |
| 22 | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 13-3-3 | 188 |
| 23 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 11-5-3 | 178 |
| 24 | Missouri Valley | 15-4-3 | 157 |
| 25 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 16-3-3 | 155 |
Receiving Votes: Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 72; St. Thomas (Fla.) 71; Northwestern Ohio 51; UC Merced (Calif.) 51; Ottawa (Kan.) 40; Siena Heights (Mich.) 38; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 37; Tennessee Wesleyan 24; Campbellsville (Ky.) 19; Texas A&M Texarkana 17; Xavier (La.) 14; Taylor (Ind.) 14; Bellevue (Neb.) 12; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 11; Carroll (Mont.) 9; Eastern Oregon 8; Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 8; Midland (Neb.) 5; Georgia Gwinnett 5; LSU Alexandria (La.) 3
