Franklin Pierce Preseason Video (Courtesy of Pack Network)

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South Easton, Mass. – The Franklin Pierce University women’s soccer team is favored to claim the 2009 Northeast-10 Regular Season Title as voted by the conference’s head coaches.

Franklin Pierce (15-4-2, 11-2-1 NE-10) received a majority of the first-place votes with 12 and collected 252 points to finish just ahead of the College of Saint Rose (20-4-2, 11-2-1 NE-10) in the poll. The Golden Knights picked up four first-place votes and 243 points. Last season, Saint Rose advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II Semifinals.

Following Saint Rose in the poll is Merrimack College (12-5-2, 10-3-1 NE-10) who received 204 points followed closely by Southern Connecticut State University (12-5-2, 9-3-2) with 199 points. The University of Massachusetts Lowell (8-5-5, 6-3-5 NE-10) round out the top five after picking up 171 points.

Adelphi University, the newest member of the Northeast-10, is picked to finish sixth after receiving 153 points. The Panthers were 14-4-1 overall and finished 7-1-1 in the East Coast Conference in 2008. Southern New Hampshire University (8-6-4, 7-4-3 NE-10) follows with 139 points in seventh place, while the University of New Haven (9-10-1, 7-7-0 NE-10) is picked to finish eighth after picking up 134 points. Saint Anselm College (7-10-2, 6-6-2 NE-10) is predicted to finish in ninth place with 124 points and American International College (9-9-1, 4-9-1 NE-10) rounds out the top ten with 105 points.

In order, the rest of the poll is as follows, Le Moyne College (9-6-2, 6-6-2 NE-10) with 89 points, Saint Michael’s College (8-8-2, 5-7-2 NE-10) with 84 points, Stonehill College (4-13-1, 3-10-1 NE-10) with 69 points, Assumption College (7-9-2, 4-8-2 NE-10) with 66 points, Bentley University (4-14-1, 2-11-1 NE-10) with 28 points and Pace University (2-13-2, 2-12-0 NE-10) with 25 points round out spots 11 through 16 respectively.

Teams will begin their quest for the conference championship as well as a chance to play for a National Championship beginning on Thursday, August 27 as five teams are in action versus non-conference opponents. The first NE-10 conference match-up is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1 with Franklin Pierce traveling to UMass Lowell for a 3 p.m. contest.

The Northeast-10 championship is slated to begin on Sunday, Nov. 1 with the quarterfinals followed by the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 5. The finals will take place on Sunday, Nov. 8. For more information on the upcoming season and for continuous coverage all season long visit the Northeast-10 Conference website at www.northeast10.org.

With 16 member institutions the Northeast-10 shares the distinction of being the largest Division II conference in the country along with the PSAC and WVIAC. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

- NE-10 -

2009 Northeast-10 Preseason Poll

1. Franklin Pierce (12) - 252
2. Saint Rose (4) - 243
3. Merrimack - 204
4. So. Connecticut - 199
5. UMass Lowell - 171
6. Adelphi - 153
7. So. New Hampshire - 139
8. New Haven - 134
9. Saint Anselm - 124
10. American Int'l - 105
11. Le Moyne - 89
12. Saint Michael's - 84
13. Stonehill - 69
14. Assumption - 66
15. Bentley - 28
16. Pace - 25