Madison’s women’s soccer picked to finish third in CAA
Dukes led by All-CAA performer Annie Lowry
By Caroline Morris, staff writer
Posted on August 28, 2006

Virginia Commonwealth University, a perennial women’s soccer powerhouse, has once again been picked to finish first in the Colonial Athletic Association, according to a preseason poll. But don’t consider JMU, which was picked third, out.

“I don’t buy into any of the preseason polls,” JMU coach Dave Lombardo said. “That’s based on last year’s teams and people guessing. I think our conference is going to be pretty competitive in the top six spots, and I think for the most part we’re not going to know who those are going to be until the first third, or even the first half of the season.”

Lombardo is smart not to rely on last year’s teams as an indication of this year’s success. Some teams in the conference, such as 2005 CAA Champion Hofstra, will look radically different. The Pride return only five starters from a team that earned its first NCAA tournament berth in school history. Despite new faces on the field, Hofstra is still considered a team to beat. In its four seasons in the CAA, the Pride finished third or better every year and are picked to finish second in the conference this season.

JMU has the advantage of playing the Pride at home this year, but in order to win, they will have to get past junior All-American defender Sue Weber, who was the 2005 CAA Defensive Player of the Year and is one of 25 players named in the preseason watch list for the Hermann Trophy.

Though JMU lost valuable contributors of their own, they have plenty of seasoned veterans to help the eight incoming freshmen and three redshirt freshmen who will join the squad. First team All-CAA junior Annie Lowry and senior Sarah Cebulski will anchor the offense with CAA All-Rookie team selection sophomore Kimmy Germain chipping in from the midfield. Injuries to key defenders Lyanne Dupra, a team co-captain, and Caitlin Walko caused players to be moved around and created openings for new players.

The team missed the postseason last year after falling to VCU in the semifinals of the CAA tournament and they will be looking for revenge this year. Lowry hopes that hosting both VCU and Hofstra will give them the edge.

“Home games are always an advantage,” Lowry says. “We were 9-1-1 last year at home and we plan to keep protecting our home. VCU and Hofstra should already know that it is twice as hard playing us at home.”

VCU returns eight starters from last year’s team that went unbeaten in regular-season play and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time ever. The Rams have finished first in the CAA regular season for the last two years and will try to complete the hat trick this year as they rely on second team All-CAA forward Stephanie Power and midfielder Hayley Moorwood. The Dukes will host the Rams in their last regular-season game on Oct. 30.

“I am looking forward to playing VCU the most because we owe them a couple of losses,” Lowry said. “Every time we play them it is a war, and I believe we got unlucky the last couple of times we played.”

William & Mary, which has been tabbed to finish behind Madison in fourth place, is a team that coaches and players won’t overlook despite last year’s 7-4-9 finish, which kept them out of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 years. The Tribe has eight starters returning, including second team All-CAA Claire Zimmeck, who scored 11 goals last year.

Lombardo insists that the CAA is a solid conference all around and that the Dukes won’t be able to relax on days when they aren’t meeting one of the top teams.

“I think [there are] a couple of up-and-comers that may surprise people,” Lombardo said. “Northeastern University, out of Boston, has gotten serious about their program. They’ve started pumping more scholarship dollars into it. They have gone overseas and gotten a bunch of Scandinavian players. So they’re going to be an X-factor.”

Other teams to watch are the Seahawks of UNC-Wilmington, whom the Dukes will play on the road later next month.

“Wilmington, in my opinion, is probably the toughest place in the conference to play on the road,” Lombardo said. “They don’t have football. So soccer is a big event and all of the athletes attend and it is a free-for-all.”

The Seahawks went 8-10-1 last year, but if their preseason is any indication, they aren’t the same team as last year.

“UNC-Wilmington has had a tremendous preseason,” Lombardo said. “They tied North Carolina who’s a traditional powerhouse. They tied them 1-1. They tied Duke 0-0, so I think they’re going to be a team that’s on the upswing.”

Like the Seahawks, JMU also boasts a tough non-conference schedule. They will face six opponents from the Atlantic Coast, Big East and Southeastern conferences.

“I try to give us two swings at the piñata,” Lombardo said. “One of the obvious swings is what you do in the conference, get an automatic qualifier, you know that you’re in. If you miss that in, you have to position yourself with a strong enough non-conference schedule.”