EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern has been picked to finish second in the Big Ten, according to the conference coaches' annual preseason poll released Monday. Three Wildcats – Lauren Clem, Hannah Davison, and Kayla Sharples – were named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List.
Chicago's Big Ten Team enters the 2017 season ranked No. 23 nationally by the United Soccer Coaches and will seek to defend its first-ever Big Ten championship.
Penn State, Rutgers, Michigan, and Minnesota were also selected to finish in the top-five of the conference standings. Northwestern plays each of those programs, except Michigan, this season and will host Rutgers on Sept. 22 and Minnesota on Oct. 12.
Clem, Davison, and Sharples headline a Northwestern defense that gave up only seven goals all season last year. The Wildcats led the country with 17 shutouts and a 0.29 goals against average.
Clem is the defending Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year and is on the 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List for the nation's top player, while Sharples was named All-Big Ten in 2016. All three earned spots on the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region team a year ago.
The full poll and honors list can be found here.
Northwestern opens the regular season on Friday against DePaul at Martin Stadium at 7 p.m.
Chicago's Big Ten Team enters the 2017 season ranked No. 23 nationally by the United Soccer Coaches and will seek to defend its first-ever Big Ten championship.
Penn State, Rutgers, Michigan, and Minnesota were also selected to finish in the top-five of the conference standings. Northwestern plays each of those programs, except Michigan, this season and will host Rutgers on Sept. 22 and Minnesota on Oct. 12.
Clem, Davison, and Sharples headline a Northwestern defense that gave up only seven goals all season last year. The Wildcats led the country with 17 shutouts and a 0.29 goals against average.
Clem is the defending Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year and is on the 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List for the nation's top player, while Sharples was named All-Big Ten in 2016. All three earned spots on the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region team a year ago.
The full poll and honors list can be found here.
Northwestern opens the regular season on Friday against DePaul at Martin Stadium at 7 p.m.