2024 Northeast Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll                   1. CCSU (9)                 2. FDU (1)                 3. Howard                 4. Wagner                 5. Saint Francis U                 6. LIU (1)                 7. Stonehill                 8. Mercyhurst                 9. Le Moyne                 10. Chicago St.                 11. Delaware St.                First place votes in parentheses

Bridgewater, NJ -- A new year is on the horizon for Northeast Conference (NEC) women’s soccer, but the preseason storyline is one that is very familiar. 

For the sixth consecutive year, perennial power Central Connecticut has landed on top of the NEC preseason coaches’ poll. The Blue Devils snagged a majority of the first-place tallies, garnering a total of nine to put themselves in prime position to run it back as NEC champs in 2024. 

Earning one first-place tally apiece in the poll, FDU and LIU occupied the second and sixth spots in the preseason projections, respectively. Howard, which is fresh off the program’s first-ever NEC postseason berth since joining the league as an associate member in 2021, was slotted for a third-place finish in the standings while Wagner, the 2023 NEC Tournament runner-up, came in fourth in the preseason vote.
 
Saint Francis U completed the top half of the NEC standings by landing the fifth spot in the projected preseason order-of-finish. Following LIU in seventh and eighth, respectively, was Stonehill and Mercyhurst, which ascends to the NCAA’s highest ranking and embarks on its inaugural season as an NEC member in 2024. Le Moyne (ninth), conference newcomer Chicago State (10th) and Delaware State (11th) rounded out the preseason coaches’ poll.
 
Central Connecticut’s recent dominance in NEC women’s soccer has been unmatched by any other program in the circuit. Since 2018, the Blue Devils have raised five NEC regular season banners, and they have hoisted the NEC Tournament trophy five times in that stretch.
 
Most impressively, longtime head coach Mick D’Arcy has piloted the Blue Devils to a 44-3-6 record and an .887 winning percentage against league competition during that stretch.
 
Darcy boasts a roster loaded with returning NEC all-stars as he enters his 25th year at the helm with his sights set on his 12th NEC Tournament championship and the Blue Devils’ 14th in program history.
 
Highlighting that talented crop is rising senior Aoife Horgan (Kerry, Ireland/St. Joseph’s Secondary School Ballybunion), the reigning NEC Midfielder of the Year. Last season, the versatile two-way footballer became the third Central Connecticut player — and the sixth consecutive Blue Devil — to be selected for the major award.
 
Horgan was instrumental during the Blue Devils’ successful regular season and postseason run. Netting three game winners, she ranked within the league’s top five in points (23), points per game (1.28), goals (9) and goals per game (.500), all while helping Central Connecticut’s defense rank second in the circuit in goals-against average (1.16) and goals allowed (22). 
 
Darcy also brings back First Team All-NEC defender Charlotte Simmons (Jamestown, RI/North Kingstown), fellow backline member and All-NEC second team member Kiley Yepes (West Hartford, CT/Conard) and NEC All-Rookie team midfielder Emma Radoncic (Ridgefield, NJ/Ridgefield Memorial Catholic).
 
FDU, which knocked then-four-time defending champion Central Connecticut out of the tournament and went on to claim the NEC crown in 2022, has hopes of bringing the coveted tournament trophy back to Hackensack for the third time in program history under 11th-year head coach Eric Teepe. The Knights have been no stranger to the postseason, qualifying for the NEC Tournament nine times since 2013 with six title match appearances in that stretch. 
 
Katia Cárdaba (Madrid, Spain/Colegios Ramón y Cajal) makes her return to the pitch after a star-studded debut season that landed her a spot on the All-NEC first team and the All-Rookie team after she paced the Knights with five goals. Rising junior Andrea Ougaard (Roskilde, Denmark/Roskilde Katedralskole) and rising sophomore Ana Salas (Madrid, Spain/Liceo Italiano) — a pair of All-NEC second team defenders — will look to bring FDU back to the mix. 
 
Set to make its NEC debut against LIU on Thursday, Sept. 19, Mercyhurst has put up double-digit win totals in each past four seasons, including a 16-4-1 record in 2023, the program’s final year as a Division II member. The Lakers rolled through the PSAC with a 14-1-1 mark and claimed the conference’s regular season title to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
 
All but two of the Lakers’ top five point-getters from last year’s historic season will be back on the pitch for head coach Rich Wall, including senior forward Karah Van Horn (Granville, OH/Granville), who dished out a team-leading 11 dimes and was second on the squad with 29 points.
 
Chicago State won four games a year ago as a Division I Independent. A veteran-driven squad will take the pitch for the Cougars in their debut season as an NEC member.
 
The first date of league play, which features four matches, is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 19. The top four teams in the standings will qualify for the NEC Championship.
 
Stonehill and Le Moyne are eligible for the NEC Tournament for the second time this season, but both programs remain ineligible for the NCAA College Cup until 2026 and 2027, respectively. Mercyhurst, which will be eligible to compete in the NEC postseason in 2026, can compete for the league’s AQ to the NCAA Tournament in 2028.
  
About The Northeast Conference
Now entering its 44th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#8). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#87). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.