Women's MVC, CAA, OVC & Big West Previews

by Victor Olorunfemi

August 15, 2023

The TDS college soccer preview continues with a look into the MVC, CAA, OVC & Big West women's soccer conferences.

Missouri Valley Conference Preview

A tightly contested Missouri Valley season finished with Valparaiso as regular season winners before Missouri State took the conference tournament crown to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in five years. That trip to the NCAA tournament ended in a first-round loss, but it was still a monumental moment for the program that will look to build on that for the 2023 season.

Top Freshmen to Watch:

Tatum Coleman, Valparaiso (#25 Ranked TDS Great Lakes Region)

Camryn Ries, UIC

Ella Hamner, Evansville

Erika Wells, Illinois State

Reilly Heman, Missouri State

Top Players to Watch:

Carly Raunig, Missouri State

Nikki Coryell, Valparaiso

Lauren Heinsch, Northern Iowa

Saraya Young, Murray State

Rachel Rosborough, Evansville

Colonial Athletic Association Preview

Hofstra pulled one of the best upsets in CAA history last season, winning the conference tournament after narrowly qualifying as an 8-seed. They then had an outstanding showing in the first-round of the NCAA tournament, losing 1-0 to heavily favored and 18th-ranked Georgetown. And as the lowest-seeded team to win the conference tournament in all of NCAA D1 soccer, Hofstra showcased the brilliance of the automatic bid system, as anything is possible if a program can reach the post-season. And with Campbell joining what is already a highly competitive league after winning the regular season Big South, the CAA goes from strength to strength.

*Campbell joins the CAA after leaving the Big South.

Top Freshmen to Watch:

Morgan Juran, Elon (#60 Ranked TDS Class of 2023)

Emily Rubio Garcia, Campbell (#28 Ranked TDS Mid-Atlantic Region)

Loren Gehret, Monmouth (Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls Soccer POTY)

Madeline Aughe, Northeastern (#9 Ranked TDS Northeast Region)

Paelyn Bayer, Towson (#21 Ranked TDS Pennsylvania Region)

Top Players to Watch:

Vivian Ajyriem, Northeastern

Nia Christopher, Towson

Delaney Lappin, Drexel

Wiktoria Fronc, Hofstra

Catharina von Drigalski, Stony Brook

Ohio Valley Conference Preview

SIUE and Tennessee Tech wrote the story of the 2022 Ovio Valley Conference season as the two engaged in a back-and-forth battle from regular to post-season. Tennessee Tech drew first blood, recording a 2-0 win over SIUE during league play en route to a regular season championship. However, SIUE had the last say in winning the conference tournament as a #2 seed, defeating Tennessee Tech in the final 1-0. With both teams confident in their chances to compete at a high level again, Southeast Missouri State, Lindenwood, and Morehead State will challenge.

*Western Illinois joins the conference after leaving the Summit League.

Top Freshmen to Watch:

Samaya Hogg, SIUE (#16 Ranked TDS Heartland Region)

Emily Baker, SEMO

Mary Trudeau, Morehead State (#23 Ranked TDS Pennsylvania Region)

Hannah Schneider, Little Rock (#46 Ranked TDS Texas Region

Neve Renwick, Tennessee Tech

Top Players to Watch:

Yao Giada Zhou, Tennessee Tech

Parker Gelinas, UT Martin

Matea Diekema, SIUE

Karsen Kohl, Lindenwood

Peyton Murphy, Southern Indiana

Big West Conference Preview

UC Irvine did not have the best regular season as they fell to sixth in the conference, but the group more than made up for it with a conference tournament championship followed by a Cinderella run to the NCAA Round of 16 as they upset California rivals USC, then the Ivy League Champions, Brown. Before that, Cal Poly won the regular season but could not reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years. With two straight trips to the Tournament, it is up to the rest of the conference to find ways to challenge UC Irvine and stop their dominant run.

Top Freshmen to Watch:

Viet Thy Tran, UC Davis (#17 Ranked TDS Northern California & Hawaii Region)

Kya Parke, Cal State Fullerton (#18 Ranked TDS Rocky Mountains & Southwest Region)

Jaycee DeFazio, Cal Poly (#21 Ranked TDS Northern California & Hawaii Region)

Zoe Willis, Long Beach State (#38 Ranked TDS Southern California Region)

Kelsey Swyney, UC Irvine

Top Players to Watch:

Cherrie Cox, Long Beach State

Emma Brown, Cal Poly

Glo Hinojosa, UC Irvine

Lauren Helwig, UC Santa Barbara

Leslie Fregoso, UC Davis