Northwestern State, which last year became the first team in league history to win both the regular-season and tournament championships, has been picked by the Southland Conference women's soccer
head coaches and sports information directors as the preseason favorite to win again. The Demons dominated the voting with 11 first-place nods, followed by two for Southwest Texas and one for
Southeastern Louisiana. Coaches could not vote for their own team. The Demons return nine starters, including Southland Conference Player of the Year Britiany Cargill, who set the SLC record for
most points (37) and most goals (16) in a season. Last yearÆs Demons set a total of seven conference records and more than 50 school records on their way to the most successful season in the
five-year history of the program. Qualifying for the NCAA play-in for the first time, they lost to Montana, the champion of the Big Sky Conference. The NCAA has increased the size of the Division I
tournament bracket from 48 to 64 teams, eliminating the preliminary round game. The 2001 Southland Conference tournament champion will receive the leagueÆs automatic bid and compete in the first
round Nov. 14 at a campus site to be determined.
2001 Southland Conference Preseason Poll | School (first-place votes) | Pts.
|
| 1. | Northwestern State (11) | 83 |
| 2. | Southwest Texas (2) | 71 |
| 3.
| Southeastern Louisiana (1) | 62 |
| 4. | McNeese Stateá | 39 |
| 5. | Stephen F. Austin
| 37 |
| 6. | Louisiana-Monroe | 36 |
| 7. | Nicholls State | 15 |
Northwestern State placed five players on the All-Southland Conference preseason team, including last seasonÆs Player of the Year, Britiany Cargill, a senior forward from Friendswood, Texas.
Helping Northwestern to its first-ever regular-season title, Cargill set a new SLC record for most goals (16) and points (37) in a season while also leading the league in shots on goal (33) last year.
2001 All-Southland Preseason Teams First Team
| Name | Cl. | Pos. | University | Hometown
|
| Britiany Cargill | Sr. | F | Northwestern State | Friendswood, Texas |
| Cory Cochrane
| So. | F | Southeastern Louisiana | Nanamio, B.C. |
| Candice Kocian | Jr. | F
| Southwest Texas | Brenham, Texas |
| Allison Crain | So. | F | Southwest Texas | Corpus Christi,
Texas |
| Jacqualyn Lawrence | So. | MF | Northwestern State | Grand Blanc, Mich. |
| Melissa Payne
| Sr. | MF | Northwestern State | The Woodlands, Texas |
| Becca Weingartner | Sr. | MF
| Southeastern Louisiana | Littleton, Colo. |
| Marva Bailey | Jr. | D | Southwest Texas | College
Station, Texas |
| Hillarie Marshall | So. | D | Northwestern State | San Diego |
| Lindsay Mason
| Jr. | D | Southwest Texas | Austin, Texas |
| Tiffany Swingler | Sr. | GK
| Northwestern State | Austin, Texas |
Second Team
| Name | Cl. | Pos.
| University | Hometown |
| Nicole Horn | So. | F | Stephen F. Austin | Spring, Texas
|
| Kim Robinson | So. | F | Nicholls State | Comox, B.C. |
| Reta Derouin | Sr.
| F | Southwest Texas | Maple Ridge, B.C. |
| Wanda Regan | Jr. | F | Southeastern
Louisiana | Spring, Texas |
| Kara Muessig | Jr. | MF | Southwest Texas | Houston
|
| Sarah Wiebe | So. | MF | Southwest Texas | Spring, Texas |
| Shannon Tenney | Sr.
| MF | Northwestern State | Gilbert, Ariz. |
| Katie Priest | Fr. | D | Northwestern State
| Raleigh, N.C. |
| Jamie Brown | So. | D | Southeastern Louisiana | Houston |
| Courtney
Coutu | So. | D | Southeastern Louisiana | Maple Ridge, B.C. |
| Nicole Helmig | So. | GK
| Southeastern Louisiana | Pensacola, Fla. |
