MELBOURNE, Florida - In 2021, the Sunshine State Conference women's soccer coaches nailed their preseason prediction of the Embry-Riddle Eagles claiming the conference regular season title, and for the 2022 season, the coaches expect more of the same. The Eagles, under new Head Coach Liam McIlhatton, received eight first-place votes and 97 total points to sit atop the 11-team 2022 SSC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll.

Last season the Blue and Gold doubled up SSC titles, winning both the regular season championship and the league's tournament crown en route to its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA II National Tournament.

McIlhatton, who takes over for Samantha Bohon after 12 seasons as her lead assistant, will embark on his first campaign with a target on his team's back. ERAU has won the last three trophies awarded by the league, including back-to-back tournament crowns.

The Eagles' 97 points in the poll are 16 in the clear of second-place Rollins (81), with Florida Tech (77), and Tampa (71) picking up the other three first-place votes, and coming in third and fourth, respectively.

Embry-Riddle returns five All-SSC performers from last year's squad: Marie Myhrvold Seim, Isabelle Navren, Sofia Munthe Nilsson, Grace Foyer and Saba Amiri. 2021's SSC Freshman of the Year Hattie Kettler will be back with the Eagles for her sophomore season, but ERAU will need to replace last year's SSC Defensive Player of the Year and 2021 All-American, Anita Agustsdottir.

The 2022 campaign gets underway on Aug. 25 when Ashland comes to Daytona Beach and the ERAU Soccer Stadium. SSC action kicks off on Sept. 14 against Tampa at home.
 

2022 SSC WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES POLL

Rank	School	Total
1	Embry-Riddle	97 (8)
2	Rollins	81
3	Florida Tech	77 (1)
4	Tampa	71 (2)
5	Nova Southeastern	70
6	Palm Beach Atlantic	62
T7	Barry	44
T7	Lynn	44
9	Saint Leo	22
10	Eckerd	19
11	Florida Southern	18