MADISON, S.D. -- The Bellevue University women's soccer team has been picked second in the North Star Athletic Association Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced by the conference office earlier today.
Viterbo earned top billing in the poll, edging Bellevue 3-2 in first place votes. The V-Hawks finished with 22 points, just two ahead of Bellevue's 20. Jamestown was predicted to finish third with 16 points, followed by Presentation in fourth with 10 points and Waldorf in fifth with seven.
Bellevue opens the 2017 season on Friday, Aug. 25 with a 4 p.m. match in Lima, Ohio against Northwestern Ohio. The Bruins will play their first home game of the season on Sunday, Aug. 27 against Avila. A game time has yet to be announced for that contest.
The Bruins went 12-5-1 in 2016 as they notched double-digit wins for the 13th-straight season. With a 3-1-0 NSAA record BU picked up their fifth conference regular-season title in the last seven years and took home additional hardware following a 6-1 victory over Jamestown in the NSAA Championship Game, their seventh league tournament title in the last eight seasons.
The North Star women's soccer members will be affiliated with the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) when conference post-season play begins in November. There will be two automatic bids from the North Star/A.I.I. Unaffiliated Grouping.
The 2017 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship will be held from Nov. 27-Dec. 2 at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala. The Opening Round matches will be played on campus sites on Saturday, Nov. 18.
The 2017 NSAA Women's Soccer season will consist of four league games beginning on Saturday, Oct. 7 with Bellevue's first NSAA game coming against Viterbo at noon.
