BENNINGTON, Vt. – On Wednesday, the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) announced the results of its 2016 women's soccer preseason poll with Southern Vermont College landing at third in the rankings determined by voting from league coaches.

Head coach Michael Zauzig returns to Southern Vermont for his sixth year leading the team, bringing back a strong group of veteran players while also adding nine new Mountaineers to the group. His squad looks to make it back into the NECC postseason for the sixth straight season, coming off back-to-back trips into the semifinal round.

"The team needs to continue its work to move the program forward, as well as keep the expectations extremely high," Zauzig commented. "The program is developing a history of excellence on and off the field. We expect to be in the playoffs and expect to earn academic awards. We want to strive to be the best student-athletes of our ability. Lastly, our goal is to continue to move the culture forward; we want a family culture that puts a tremendous emphasis on work rate."

10 players are set to return to the pitch for SVC this year, three of whom were selected to All-NECC teams in 2015.

Sophomore Molly Madore (Higganum, Conn.) comes back for her second year with the program, coming off a freshman season that saw her be selected as the NECC Rookie of the Year and voted onto the All-NECC First Team; she ranked third in the league with a team-leading 15 goals, adding six assists to her line as she was named the NECC Rookie of the Week twice over the course of the campaign.

Junior goalkeeper Melissa Mascari (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), an All-NECC Second Team selection last year, will once again control the frame for SVC in her third year starting between the pipes for Coach Zauzig. She posted six shutouts last season, tallying a 1.25 goals against average in 17 starts; that mark ranked third for the best-ever single season GAA in team history while she is now just two blank sheets shy of breaking the program's career shutouts record of 12.

Also returning for SVC is sophomore Ally McNamee (Freehold, N.J.) who was named to the All-NECC Third Team a year ago. She was a pivotal aspect of the Mountaineers' game through the midfield in 2015, helping both facilitate the offense with a team-leading seven assists while also being strong in transition defense. McNamee chalked up three goals in her rookie season with Southern Vermont.

"Our biggest obstacle will be replacing seven impact-making and starting players-- a group that included five seniors and one junior," Zauzig noted about what the team will have to overcome. "It's extremely hard to replace a core group like that. Not only do we need to find replacements for these players, but help the incoming players adjust to our system, expectations, and goals. With such a young team, there can be speed bumps with that process. With that being said, I expect the incoming players to understand these goals and strive to make them reality."

The Mountaineers finished the 2015 campaign at third in the Conference standings after going a program-best 6-2-1 in league play (11-7-1 overall). SVC won its first-round playoff match before falling in the tournament's semifinals.

"Consistency, consistency, consistency," Zauzig replied when asked about what the team will have to do in order to get back to the postseason. "The best teams have the ability to play at a consistent level. We have had some very good training sessions; we have also had some very poor training sessions. We need to make good training sessions a more consistent habit and carry that into matches. Additionally, we have to make sure we are organized as the soccer season is so short. Most leagues at other levels have eight-to-10 month seasons; college soccer gives you only 10 weeks to make a difference."

Southern Vermont hits the road to start the 2016 regular season, visiting Mount Holyoke College on Thursday for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff. The Mountaineers then host Dean College on Sunday for their home opener, that match at Everett Field slated to start at 1 p.m. SVC begins NECC play at home on Saturday, September 17 against Lesley University (1 p.m.).

With nine of the 10 possible first-place votes, four-time defending NECC Champion Lesley took the top spot in the preseason poll while Elms College grabbed second with the final first-place selection.

2016 NECC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll

1. Lesley – 99 (9)
2. Elms – 88 (1) 
3. Southern Vermont – 80
4. Becker – 67
5. Regis – 62
6. Newbury – 46
7. Mitchell – 45
8. Wheelock – 27
9. Bay Path – 21
10. Daniel Webster – 15 

(Parentheses denote first-place votes)

– #LetsGoSVC –