MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State has been selected to win the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference women’s soccer crown, as voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors, the OVC announced on Thursday.
The Eagles, coming off one of their most successful seasons in school history by winning both the regular season and tournament titles, garnered 14 of the 20 first place votes and 154 points.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by your fellow coaches,” coach Warren Lipka said. “In the long run, games still need to be played and I hope we are there at the end of the year.”
Southeast Missouri picked up one first-place vote and 134 for a second-place predicted finish, while Austin Peay received the remaining five first-place votes and 133 points to be chosen to place third. Murray State is selected to finish fourth, followed by UT Martin, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville, Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State.
Last season Morehead State won its second straight OVC regular-season title after going 13-7-1 overall and 7-0-1 in the OVC. The Eagles also recorded their second conference tournament title after defeating Austin Peay, 2-1, in the championship match. Morehead State has not lost an OVC contest in the past two seasons, going 12-0-4 during that span.
Key players returning for the Eagles include junior midfielder Sam Toepfer, who scored five goals last year and is the team’s top returning scorer, senior forward Devan Jordan, who posted four goals and three assists on the year, and senior forward Jillian Birchmeier, who dished out a team-leading five assists last season.
The 2011 Morehead State soccer season gets underway on Aug. 14, as the Eagles travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for an exhibition match versus Indiana State at 1 p.m. EST.
2011 OVC Women’s Soccer Predicted Order of Finish
1. Morehead State (14 first-place votes) - 154
2. Southeast Missouri (One first-place vote) - 134
3. Austin Peay (Five first-place votes) - 133
4. Murray State - 94
5. UT Martin - 90
6. Eastern Kentucky - 88
7. Eastern Illinois - 81
8. SIU Edwardsville - 67
9. Tennessee Tech - 37
10. Jacksonville State - 22
