AASU women’s soccer set for strong 2010 season

The AASU women's soccer team will begin the 2010 season with a No. 19 national ranking with the release of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Preseason Top 25 poll. It is the Pirates' first-ever preseason national ranking in the six-year history of the program.

The Pirates are beginning their sixth season of competition since starting the program in 2005. They finished the 2009 season with a 16-4-3 overall record, a PBC Tournament title and an NCAA Southeast Region victory.

Last year, AASU finished the season with a No. 23 national ranking.

AASU is one of three Southeast Region teams that appear in the rankings and one of two teams from the Peach Belt Conference. Southeast Region champion Carson-Newman College is No. 5, while PBC foe Columbus State University is ranked No. 12.

Other than CSU, one other 2010 opponent for AASU appears in the preseason poll. Rollins College is No. 13.

High expectations

The AASU women's soccer team has been picked to finish second in a preseason poll of the Peach Belt Conference's coaches, released Aug. 23 by league officials.

The No. 19-ranked Pirates finished second in the PBC in 2009 but captured their first-ever Peach Belt Conference tournament title with a 5-2 win over the University of Montevallo. AASU received one first place vote and 88 points total, coming in behind defending champion Columbus State University in the poll. The Columbus State Cougars received 10 first place votes and 100 points.

North Georgia College and State University has been picked third with 75 points total, followed by Lander University (68), Georgia College & State University (61) and Montevallo (54). UNC Pembroke was picked seventh with 50 points, with Flagler College (48), Clayton State University (31), USC Aiken (20) and Georgia Southwestern State University (10) rounding out the poll.

AASU returns 19 players from last season's squad, including PBC preseason all-conference selections Carey Patterson and Morgan Mitchell.

Players honored

AASU women's soccer players Morgan Mitchell and Carey Patterson were named to the 2010 Peach Belt Conference's preseason all-conference team on Aug. 20 by league officials.

Patterson earns the honor as a defender after earning all-conference and NSCAA all-region honors a season ago for the PBC Tournament champion, the Pirates.

The senior from Panama City Beach, Fla., scored her first collegiate goal in AASU's 5-2 win over Montevallo in the 2009 PBC Tournament Championship match. She helped anchor a back line that allowed just 1.14 goals per match in 2009.

Mitchell, meanwhile, earns the honor as a midfielder after earning honorable mention All-American honors by Daktronics/CoSIDA in 2009. A sophomore from Lilburn, Ga., Mitchell ranked second in the PBC in points with 31 after scoring 12 goals and tallying seven assists in 2009. She also earned first-team all-PBC and second-team NSCAA all-region honors last season.

In all, 12 players were named to the 2010 PBC Preseason all-conference team.

The Pirates begin the 2010 season on Friday, Sept. 3, with a 3 p.m. match at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. AASU's home opener takes place on Wednesday, Sept. 8, with a 5:00 p.m. match against Brewton Parker.