Central Islip, N.Y. - The University of
Bridgeport women's soccer team, East Coast Conference Champions in
2013, have been picked to repeat by the league's coaches in the
2014 preseason poll. Junior forward Susanne Vistnes
(Randaberg, Norway) from LIU Post takes home the Preseason
Offensive Player of the Year award for the second straight
year, while Ashleigh Berg (Plymouth, Mass.), a senior back
from Bridgeport, was voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the
Year.
After winning their second ECC title in three years a season ago,
Bridgeport received seven of 10 first place votes to finish atop
the ECC preseason rankings with 89 points. The Purple Knights, who
finished last season with an 18-3-0 overall record, welcome back 10
players to the roster who started at least 10 games during their
championship campaign. Bridgeport also beings the season ranked No.
20 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)
Division II Top 25 poll.
LIU Post, with 79 points, narrowly edges Mercy, with 78 points,
for the second spot in the poll. Both schools received one first
place vote in the rankings, as well. LIU Post made their seventh
straight appearance in the ECC Championship last season and
finished with a mark of 13-5-0. Mercy put together the best season
in program history in 2013, making their first ever appearances in
the ECC Championship, the ECC Championship Final, and the NCAA
Tournament.
Vistnes is awarded the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
award for the second straight season. In 2013, Vistnes lead the
Pioneers and the ECC with 14 goals and 34 points. She also finished
tied for fifth in the conference with six assists. Her outstanding
season led to her repeat selections as the ECC Offensive Player of
the Year and a NSCAA Third Team All-American.
Berg takes home the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honor
after being a key cog in a stout Bridgeport back-line in 2013. A
Second Team All-Conference and All-Region selection, Berg started
19 games for a Purple Knights squad that allowed only 14 goals and
a conference-leading 0.67 goals against average.
2014 ECC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. | 2013 Record |
| 1. Bridgeport (7) | 89 | 18-3-0 (8-1-0 ECC) |
| 2. LIU Post (1) | 79 | 13-5-0 (6-3-0 ECC) |
| 3. Mercy (1) | 78 | 13-5-1 (7-2-0 ECC) |
| 4. Roberts Wesleyan | 69 | 11-5-2 (6-3-0 ECC) |
| 5. Dowling | 68 | 12-3-2 (5-3-1 ECC) |
| 6. Queens | 55 | 11-6-1 (6-3-0 ECC) |
| 7. Molloy (1) | 41 | 3-13-1 (3-5-1 ECC) |
| 8. NYIT | 33 | 6-10-1 (2-7-0 ECC) |
| T9. Daemen | 19 | 10-10-0 (1-8-0 ECC) |
| T9. St. Thomas Aquinas | 19 | 2-12-0 (0-9-0 ECC) |
( ) - first place votes
