COLONIA, N.J. – Daemen clinched the top spot in the 2024 ECC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's eight head coaches and announced on Thursday afternoon. Additionally, Daemen junior striker Kylie Miranto (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) was selected the ECC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Mercy senior centerback Skyler Schwenkler (San Diego, Calif.) earned ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
The top three teams were separated by just eight votes, but Daemen topped the poll with two first-place votes and 56 total points. The Wildcats (9-5-3, 6-1-1 ECC) are coming off of a historic season in which they made their first-ever appearance in the ECC Women’s Soccer Championship final.
Daemen returns six of seven All-ECC players from last year’s squad, including the First Team quartet of Miranto, midfielders Magda Carpenter (2023 ECC Rookie of the Year) and Madita Zeitz, and defender Alyssa Diaz. All-ECC Second Team goalkeeper Becca Schultz and All-ECC Third Team defender Nevada Hahn return to anchor the back line.
The 2023 ECC Offensive Player of the Year, Miranto will once again be expected to bolster the Wildcats’ offense. The Daemen forward and D2CCA Third Team All-American led the conference in total points (36), points per game (2.40), goals (16, which ranked eighth in the nation), and goals per game (1.07) in regular-season play last fall and registered at least one point in 12 of 17 matches for the Wildcats, which included a season-high seven points (3g, 1a) against St. Thomas Aquinas, four games with five-plus points, and three hat tricks.
Defending champion Molloy comes in second in the preseason poll with four first-place votes and 52 points. Last fall, the Lions (12-5-5, 4-2-2 ECC) reached their fourth consecutive ECC Women’s Soccer Championship final, claiming the title for the third time in the last four years with a 2-0 victory over Daemen; Molloy also took home the trophy in 2019 and 2021.
With the departure of six of their eight All-ECC selections from a year ago, including 2023 ECC Defensive Player of the Year and D2CCA First Team All-American Sarah Tappeto, the Lions will rely on their returning All-ECC selections for offensive production, as First Team forward Olivia Ingenito scored a team-high 11 times last year and Third Team midfielder Isabella Muro added 10 points on two goals and six assists. Between the pipes is rising star Elyse Muñoz, the sophomore goalkeeper who was tabbed the 2023 ECC Women’s Soccer Championship Most Outstanding Player after collecting three consecutive shutouts and eight saves in the tournament.
After finishing 9-5-3 overall and 5-1-2 in conference play last fall, Mercy sits third in the preseason poll with one first-place vote and 48 points. The Mavericks have won three ECC tournament titles in the last nine years (2014, 2017, 2022) and will look for their fourth behind the returning offensive trio of All-ECC First Team forward Ancksu Dixson (5 goals, 3 assists), Amiah Washington (5 goals), and All-ECC Second Team midfielder Maleah Tarin (4 goals, 1 assist).
Schwenkler returns to anchor the Mavs’ defensive core. The Mercy senior centerback was named to the D2CCA All-Region Second Team and All-ECC First Team after starting all 17 games with three assists last fall. Schwenkler logged 1,444 minutes for an average of 85 minutes per contest, which included seven shutout wins. She played 84 minutes and added an assist in Mercy’s 3-0 ECC tournament win over D’Youville in the First Round.
Roberts Wesleyan appears fourth in the preseason poll with one first-place vote and 45 points. The Redhawks went 10-3-3 and an unblemished 6-0-2 in the ECC last fall to win the first ECC Regular Season Championship in program history. Seven of those eight conference match results were clean sheets, and the All-ECC Third Team pair of defender Cami Brescia and goalkeeper Nicolette Knauf return to lead what was one of the strongest back lines in the ECC in 2023. The Redhawks also return 94 percent of their offensive production from last spring and will be guided by All-ECC First Team midfielder Larissa Johnston, who hit the back of the net a team-high five times last fall.
Three All-ECC selections return for Queens, who comes in fifth with 35 points. All-ECC Second Team forward Julia Ragone led the Knights in scoring with 17 points on seven goals and three assists and will join All-ECC Second Team defender Sarah Anderson and All-ECC Third Team midfielder Anna Tavantzis in guiding the Knights this fall.
Led by their top two point scorers from a year ago in Laoise O’Haodha (5 goals) and All-ECC Third Team midfielder Jeslyn-Brooke Vallesteros (2 goals, 3 assists), D’Youville is the sixth and final team expected to make a postseason run with 22 points.
2024 Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll
1. Daemen (56 points, 2 first-place votes)
2023 Record – 9-5-3, 6-1-1 ECC
2. Molloy (52 points, 4 first-place votes)
2023 Record – 12-5-5, 4-2-2 ECC
3. Mercy (48 points, 1 first-place vote)
2023 Record – 9-5-3, 5-1-2 ECC
4. Roberts Wesleyan (45 points, 1 first-place vote)
2023 Record – 10-3-3, 6-0-2 ECC
5. Queens (35 points)
2023 Record – 6-7-4, 3-3-2 ECC
6. D’Youville (22 points)
2023 Record – 4-9-3, 3-4-1 ECC
7. Staten Island (16 points)
2023 Record – 4-7-4, 2-5-1 ECC
8. St. Thomas Aquinas (14 points)
2023 Record – 2-12-1, 1-6-1 ECC
2024 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Kylie Miranto, Jr., F, Daemen
2024 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Skyler Schwenkler, Sr., B, Mercy