LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Shippensburg University women's soccer team has been voted 11th in the 2010 PSAC Preseason Coaches Poll released Thursday by the conference office. The Golden Rams of West Chester were voted atop the poll.

PSAC schools have opted to abandon the divisional format that was in place for the last six years. Instead, each of the league's 15 teams will play a single round-robin schedule in which the top eight finishers will qualify for the PSAC playoffs. For postseason women's soccer awards, the PSAC will recognize a first, second and third team.

Seven seniors have graduated from the 2009 squad, taking with them a total of 499 career games of experience. The departures include forward Gayle Kuntzmann, the second-leading scorer in SU history, and goalkeeper Beth Long, SU's all-time leader in saves and shutouts.

Head coach Rob Fulton faces a similar situation to the one he assumed in his debut season of 2006, when he inherited a roster that had lost nine seniors to graduation (the '06 group included every starting forward and the starting goalkeeper). However, Fulton's debut season saw the Lady Raiders finish 9-8-2 and secure SU's second postseason appearance in program history.

"We have a new group this year, lots of first-year players because we lost a lot of seniors, but enthusiasm is good and it seems like it's going to be a good, cohesive team," Fulton said. "Everybody was fit coming into camp, and now it's a matter of defining what team we are going to be."

Preseason camp will feature stiff competition, as 19 returning players will be vying for spots along with 13 newcomers.

"I think maybe depth-wise, this could be our deepest team," said Fulton, who is entering his fifth year as the team's head coach and seventh overall with the program. "We're going to have to figure out how to replace some scoring that we lost, but with our depth, everybody can play and contribute."

The group boasts several assets, particularly speed and a strong work ethic.

"We're going to work hard, and it's going to pay off in the long run," said senior Alison Dowdrick. "When it comes to games, we're going to keep running and hopefully get the other team tired."

Perhaps the deepest areas in which Shippensburg boasts talent is in the midfield and on defense. The Lady Raiders have four players alone in the midfield with at least two full seasons to their credit (Emily Andrew, Cassie Armold, Lisa Findley, Hannah Sanders) while as many as three seniors could see regular time in back.

"With all the new girls coming in, we want to be cohesive and have them fit in with us really well," said senior Ashleigh Dunlap, one of several veteran returning players on defense. "We all want to play well and be supportive of one another, and I think we're doing that really well already."

Shippensburg opens its season at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 3 from David See Field against the University of Charleston. The team's PSAC opener is on Saturday, September 11 at IUP.

2010 PSAC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
(First place votes in parentheses)

1. West Chester (9)
2. California (5)
3. IUP
4. Kutztown (1)
5. Gannon
T6. Mercyhurst
T6. Slippery Rock
T8. Bloomsburg
T8. East Stroudsburg
10. Edinboro
11. Shippensburg
12. Millersville
13. Lock Haven
14. Mansfield
15. Clarion