IUP Begins Season Ranked 15th in National Soccer Coaches Association Poll

NSCAA Preseason Top 25

The IUP women's soccer team is ranked 15th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll, the highest the Crimson Hawks have been ranked prior to the start of a season.

Defending national champion Metro State is ranked No. 1, with runner-up Grand Valley State one spot behind.  West Chester, the defending PSAC and Northeast Region champion, is third.

IUP and West Chester are the only two PSAC schools ranked in the Top 25.  IUP finished the 2006 season also in the No. 15 position.

The Crimson Hawks earned their lofty preseason ranking on the strength of a 2006 campaign which saw them finish 15-7, including a 9-1 mark in winning their second straight PSAC West title. 

IUP then defeated Slippery Rock, 2-1 in double overtime, to advance to the PSAC championship game, where it dropped a 2-1 decision to West Chester. 

The Crimson Hawks earned the first NCAA tournament win in school history with a 3-1 victory over New Haven in the Northeast Region semifinals.

IUP returns six starters from last year's team, including PSAC West Player and Rookie of the Year Sarah Romasco.  Romasco led the conference in points with 55, tied for the lead in goals with 21 and was second in assists with 13.

The Crimson Hawks also return their third and fourth leading scorers from a year ago in sophomore Ray Schreiner (13 goals, three assists, 29 points) and senior Brittany Pikur (10-5-25).

Seniors Janel Paffie, one of the top defensive players in the region, and Veronica Jeremko as well as sophomores Elysse Dluhos and Ashley Florijan are other returning starters.

Romasco, Pikur and Paffie were first team All-PSAC West selections last year while Schreiner and Dluhos were chosen to the second team.

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