The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and Commissioner Dan Mara has released the results of the 2026 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll on Tuesday.
In voting done by the league's 12 head coaches, Chestnut Hill College was picked to finish third in the forecasted standings with 94 total points. Three-time CACC Regular season champion Jefferson University again topped this year's poll with 117 points.
The Rams received eight of 12 first-place votes in the CACC poll and 118 total points. Wilmington University, last year's CACC champion, collected one first-place vote and was chosen for second place with 95 points. Chestnut Hill College was picked for third place with 94 points, followed closely by Caldwell University with 90 points in fourth and the University of Bridgeport with 88 in fifth. Bridgeport received the other three first-place votes.
The next three positions in the poll went to, respectively, Georgian Court University (6th, 76 points), Holy Family University (7th, 58), and Goldey-Beacom College (8th, 52). Felician University landed in the ninth position with 49 points, followed by Dominican University New York (39), Post University (20), and Lincoln (Pa.) University (13).
Despite graduating seven seniors, the Griffins return 19 players from last season's squad, including both goalkeepers and rising sophomore Abby Collins who produced a solid freshman year with five goals and earned all-tournament team honors last season.
Ellie Stratz returns in goal for her final season after producing a 0.64 goals against average in 10 starts for the Griffins who finished with a 8-2-1 CACC record last season. Haley Esposito returns to join Stratz to split the netminding duties. Esposito produced a 1.42 goals against average in eight starts.
Eleven newcomers join the returnees this season with e seven slated to play midfield or forward when regular season play starts.
Chestnut Hill has three road scrimmages in the upcoming weeks before opening the regular season with a home game against St. Michael's on August 27. Kickoff is set for noon.
Conference play is slated to start on Sept. 15. At season's end, the top eight teams in the standings will qualify for the CACC Championship tournament. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held on Nov. 1 and 4 at campus sites. Wilmington will host the championship final on Nov. 7 at the WilmU Athletics Complex in Newark, Del. The CACC champion will automatically qualify for the 2026 NCAA Division II East Region Championship.
2026 CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES POLL
(First-place votes in parentheses)
|
1.
|
Thomas Jefferson University (8)
|
118 pts.
|
|
2.
|
Wilmington University (1)
|
95
|
|
3.
|
Chestnut Hill College
|
94
|
|
4.
|
Caldwell University
|
90
|
|
5.
|
University of Bridgeport (3)
|
88
|
|
6.
|
Georgian Court University
|
76
|
|
7.
|
Holy Family University
|
58
|
|
8.
|
Goldey-Beacom College
|
52
|
|
9.
|
Felician University
|
49
|
|
10.
|
Dominican University New York
|
39
|
|
11.
|
Post University
|
20
|
|
12.
|
Lincoln University of Pennsylvania
|
13
|
