ATLANTA – FGCU has been selected as the favorite to win the 2024 Atlantic Sun Conference Women’s Soccer Championship, according to the annual preseason poll of the conference’s 12 head coaches released on Wednesday.
The two-time defending conference tournament champion Eagles went 12-5-5 last season, including a 7-1-3 mark in league play, and captured their eighth ASUN Championship. Lipscomb was selected second followed by Central Arkansas in third. North Alabama, the runner-up to FGCU in last season's tournament final, sits fourth in the preseason rankings with EKU and North Florida rounding out the top half in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
The Eagles swept all four preseason superlative honors with Ashley Labbe leading the way as the Preseason Player of the Year. The graduate student was a First Team All-ASUN selection last season after leading the league with 34 shots-on-goal to go along with six goals. Reese Mendenhall followed up her 2023 All-ASUN First Team nod with the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honor. She started all 22 matches last season for the Eagles and helped her team hold opponents to 10 shots or less in six matches. Erika Zschuppe, the 2023 ASUN Championship MVP, enters this fall as the Preseason Midfielder of the Year. Last season, she scored a team-leading 10 goals including a hat-trick in the ASUN Championship Final to help FGCU come from behind and claim the title. Guarding the net this season for the Eagles is Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year, Olivia Molina. The Tampa, Fla., native was a member of the 2023 All-Freshman and All-Tournament Teams after breaking a program record with 117 saves and ranked ninth in the nation.
2024 Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
1. FGCU (9) 140
2. Lipscomb (3) 132
3. Central Arkansas 108
4. North Alabama 100
5. EKU 93
6. North Florida 92
7. Austin Peay 77
8. Bellarmine 53
9. Queens 49
10. Stetson 48
11. Jacksonville 30
12. West Georgia 14
First-place votes in parentheses
2024 Women's Soccer Preseason All-ASUN Team
F - Aniyah Mack, Austin Peay
F - Kendal Gargiula, FGCU
F - Ashley Labbe, FGCU
F - Alice Bussey, North Alabama
MF - Kelly Van Gundy, Central Arkansas
MF - Erika Zschuppe, FGCU
MF - Bella Carapazza, Lipscomb
D - Reese Mendenhall, FGCU
D - Lucy Ream, Lipscomb
D - Zara Siassi, North Florida
GK - Olivia Molina, FGCU