Westfield, Mass.—The Worcester State Lancers have been picked to win the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer championship as selected by the coaches from around the league.

Last year's MASCAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions earned five of eight first place votes for 46 points.

2015 MASCAC Women's Soccer Pre-Season Coaches Poll
(First Place Votes in Parentheses)

In the 2015 season, the Lancers will return 2014 MASCAC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP Alicia Macomber (Stoughton, Mass.) who finished last season with 18 goals and six assists for 42 points while helping Worcester State to a 14-4-1 winning record, and a perfect 7-0 in the MASCAC.

Despite the loss of six senior forwards/midfielders, this year the Lancers will look for some strength on the front end from junior Kendal Bergenholtz (Grafton, Mass.) who was second on the team with six goals (one game winning). Bergenholtz also gave the team three assists, and had the highest shooting percentage on the team with .300.

On the defensive end, Worcester State will return their goalkeeper, Jillian Witkowski (Leicester, Mass.), who had six shutouts on the 2014 season. Also returning for the Lancers is sophomore Justine Butler (Marlboro, Mass.), who as a defender, managed to accumulate three points, scoring one goal and banking an assist on the season.

The Lancers will return 15 players (six starters), and have added 11 to the roster.

The Worcester State women's soccer team opens up the season on Sept. 2 with an away game at Wheaton set for 5 p.m. Their first home game will be Sat. Sept. 12 against Clark University with a 12 p.m. start time.

For the full poll, visit the MASCAC website at http://mascac.com/sports/wsoc/2015-16/releases/WSOC_Preseason

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