PROVO, Utah – The BYU women's soccer team amassed the top spot in the annual West Coast Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll as announced on Wednesday.
The preseason poll and team are picked after compiling votes from the conference's 10 head coaches.
BYU enters the fall season ranked No. 3 nationally after finishing last season as the 2021 NCAA National runner-up.
The Cougars garnered eight first-place votes in the WCC poll to place them on top with a total of 80 points. Following close behind was Santa Clara, who totaled two first-place votes and 72 points, and is ranked No. 5 nationally.
BYU led the way with three spots on the preseason All-WCC Preseason Team, followed by Santa Clara and Pepperdine with two each. BYU captain Jamie Shepherd and defenders Olivia Smith and Laveni Vaka were selected to the team. All three players were starters for the 2021 squad under head coach Jennifer Rockwood and will continue to be impactful players going into the 2022 season.
For the conference's release, visit WCCSports.com.
2022 WCC Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll
Place | Team | First Place | Points |
1. | No. 3 BYU | 8 | 80 |
2. | No. 5 Santa Clara | 2 | 72 |
3. | No. 17 Pepperdine | 64 | |
4. | Gonzaga | 59 | |
5. | Portland | 46 | |
6. | Saint Mary’s | 43 | |
7. | San Francisco | 32 | |
8. | Pacific | 22 | |
9. | LMU | 19 | |
10. | San Diego | 13 |
2022 All-WCC Women's Soccer Preseason Team | |||
Name | Institution | Yr. | Pos. |
Izzy D'Aquila | Santa Clara | Sr.* | F |
Erin Healy | Gonzaga | Sr. | M |
Sally Menti | Santa Clara | Jr.* | F |
Nedya Sawan | Portland | Jr. | F |
Jamie Shepherd | BYU | Jr. | M |
Suzuna Shibukawa | Saint Mary’s | Jr. | F |
Olivia Smith | BYU | So. | D |
Laveni Vaka | BYU | Jr. | D |
Marissa Vasquez | San Francisco | Jr. | M |
Tori Waldeck | Pepperdine | Jr. | F |
Trinity Watson | Pepperdine | Sr.* | D |