Owensboro, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan women's soccer team has been picked to finish ninth out of the 12 teams in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, as announced by the league office on Wednesday afternoon.
The Panthers were selected 12th last season before a 2024 campaign that saw the program make heavy strides with a 4-10 record in conference play and 5-13 record overall.
Wesleyan earned 47 points in the annual Great Midwest Women's Soccer preseason poll, just ahead of Ursuline with 45 points in 10th.
Ashland, the defending G-MAC champions, ran away with the top spot with 11 first place votes and 133 overall points. Northwood (115 points) and Findlay (112) points rounded out the top three. Notably, Cedarville tallied the 12th and final first place vote but slotted in fourth with 110 points.
The Panthers have a lot of continuity to lean on in the upcoming season, highlighted by seven returners who started 10+ games last season: Steeley Walker, Mariah Winge, Haylie Panther, Emily Goff, Ilana Hall, Brooke Meeks, and Haley Osborne. Many other returners are expected to contribute as well, on top of eleven freshmen entering the program.
"We're really excited about this upcoming season and the opportunity to build on the progress we made last year," said head coach Ty Stauffer. "Having so many returners gives us a strong foundation to lean on, and that continuity has already shown in the way our group has approached training and preseason. Last year was an important step forward for the program, and now the challenge is to continue raising the standard every day. We're confident in the growth of our team and the direction we're headed."
Kentucky Wesleyan women's soccer begins their 2025 season with a non-conference matchup vs. West Alabama on September 4th at 7:30 PM.
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