Aug. 8, 2007

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Quincy University, which posted the top league record in 2006, has been picked as the favorite to claim the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship in the upcoming year according to the GLVC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.

Quincy collected 168 total points in the poll as voted on by the conference's 14 head coaches. The Norse notched 12 first-place votes. The University of Indianapolis, the 2006 GLVC Champion, finished second in the poll with 145 points.

SIU Edwardsville placed third in the poll with 138 points and collected one first-place vote. The Cougars are followed by Northern Kentucky which received 132 points for fourth place.

Bellarmine, which advanced to the final match of the GLVC Tournament in 2006, placed fifth in the poll with 123 total points and the final first-place vote. The Knights were followed by UW-Parkside (114 points), Missouri-St. Louis (94), Rockhurst (93), Drury (78), Lewis (50), Southern Indiana (49), Missouri-Rolla (45), Saint Joseph's (28) and Kentucky Wesleyan (17).

The Flyers finished 4-15-0 last season but excitement is building for 2007 under first-year head coach Chris Koenig, former assistant at SIU Edwardsville. The Flyers return an all-conference defender in senior Allison Wilkerson, and Koenig has landed one of the top recruiting classes in recent memory.

Lewis begins its season by hosting Upper Iowa on Wednesday, August 29 at 1 p.m.

The complete 2007 GLVC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll follows: