Wayland Baptist is picked to finish fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference women's soccer preseason poll.
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Two-time defending champion University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma is expected to win its third straight SAC regular-season title, according to votes cast by the league's 10 head coaches. The Drovers finished in first place with 97 total points and six first-place votes. USAO finished last season with a 12-6-3 overall record and won the both the league regular-season and tournament championship.
John Brown, last year's league runner-up, finished second in the poll with 91 points and four first place votes. Oklahoma City was a close third with 86 points while Wayland was fourth with 77 points.
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The poll concludes with Mid-America Christian in fifth with 63 points and Texas Wesleyan in sixth with 52 points. Southwestern Assemblies of God is picked seventh with 48 points and St. Gregory's is eighth with 33 points. Southwestern Christian is ninth with 31 points and Bacone rounds out the poll in 10th with 20 points.
The SAC season will conclude with its championship tournament featuring the top eight teams from the regular season competing in a single-elimination tournament set to begin Friday, Nov. 4. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic berth into the NAIA Opening Round of the NAIA National Tournament.
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Wayland finished last season with a 7-7-3 record, including 5-2-2 in conference for fourth place. Wayland defeated Mid-America Christian, 4-1, in the first round of the SAC Tournament before falling to USAO in the semifinals, 2-1.
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The Pioneers, in their 10th season under coach coach
Shiloh Posey, play road scrimmages Aug. 20 vs. Lubbock Christian and Aug. 23 against West Texas A&M before opening the season in Wichita, Kan., with matches against Friends University and Newman University Aug. 27 and 28. Wayland's home-opener is against Texas-Permian Basin on Sept. 5.
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| 2016 SAC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll |
| No |
Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
Total |
| 1 |
Science & Arts |
6 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
97 |
| 2 |
John Brown |
4 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
91 |
| 3 |
Oklahoma City |
|
5 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
86 |
| 4 |
Wayland Baptist |
|
|
1 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
77 |
| 5 |
Mid-America Christian |
|
|
|
4 |
4 |
1 |
|
|
|
63 |
| 6 |
Texas Wesleyan |
|
|
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
|
62 |
| 7. |
Southwestern Assemblies |
|
|
|
|
1 |
5 |
3 |
|
|
48 |
| 8. |
St. Gregory's |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
4 |
1 |
33 |
| 9. |
Southwestern Christian |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
5 |
1 |
31 |
| 10. |
Bacone |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
8 |
20 |
