Ana Bengoechea, Johns Hopkins
BALTIMORE, MD – For the seventh consecutive season, the Johns Hopkins women's soccer team will open its season ranked in the top 10 as the Blue Jays check in at number five in the 2015 NSCAA NCAA Division III Preseason Poll. The poll marks the highest preseason ranking for Hopkins since 2012 when the Blue Jays began the season tabbed third.
Defending national champion Lynchburg earned the top spot in the preseason poll and is followed by Williams, Messiah and Illinois Wesleyan, while the Blue Jays round out the top five.
Head Coach Leo Weil put together another challenging schedule as the Blue Jays have early road dates with two top-10 opponents in Messiah and ninth-ranked TCNJ. The squad is set to open its season when it hosts the Blue Jay Invitational Saturday and Sunday, September 5 and 6 at Homewood Field. Hopkins will square off against York (PA) on day one at 11:00 am, before concluding the Invitational against Frostburg State on Sunday at 3:30 pm.
Junior Ana Bengoechea, an All-American in 2014 and two-time first team All-Centennial Conference honoree, returns to lead Hopkins. The midfielder started all 25 games during the Blue Jays Final Four campaign a year ago.
The Blue Jays posted a 19-4-2 record last season and reached the Final Four for the first time in program history.
2015 NSCAA NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Preseason Top 10
Rk. School (2014 Record)
- Lynchburg (27-0-1)
- Williams (21-1-2)
- Messiah (22-0-3)
- Illinois Wesleyan (18-7-1)
- Johns Hopkins (19-4-2)
- Trinity (TX) (22-1-1)
- Carnegie Mellon (16-2-1)
- Thomas More (23-2-0)
- The College of New Jersey (18-3-1)
- William Smith (16-3-1)