BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Frostburg State and Concord have been tabbed by the league coaches as the preseason favorites for this fall’s Mountain East Conference women’s soccer season, the league announced on Friday afternoon.

The Bobcats and Mountain Lions were MEC divisional winners in 2021 and met in the MEC Tournament finals with Concord coming away with the 1-0 win.

Frostburg State was voted to win the North Division with 64 points, including nine first-place votes. The Bobcats return three of their top five point scorers from 2021, as well as their starting goalkeeper Ashley Bilger.

Fairmont State and Notre Dame finished in a tie for second in the north division poll, both with 52 points. Fairmont State received a pair of first-place votes, while Notre Dame accounted for the final first-play tally. West Liberty (35), Wheeling (27) and Alderson Broaddus (16) rounded out the poll.

Concord landed atop the South Division poll with 64 points (9 first-place votes). The Mountain Lions have won the South Division for three-consecutive seasons (2019-2021) and were conference tournament champions in 2019 and 2021. Concord advanced to the NCAA national quarterfinals last fall, picking up regional wins over Mercyhurst, Bloomsburg and West Chester, before being edged by Saint Rose, in overtime, during the quarterfinals. The Mountain Lions return a veteran lineup in 2022, including two of their top three scorers in Leah Foster and Courtney Smith. CU also returns standout goalkeepers Leah Marsh this season. The Mountain Lions will have to replace the production left behind by Yasmin Mosby – who graduated as a two-time MEC Offensive Player of the Year.

Charleston was next with 57 points and had two first-place votes. The Golden Eagles earned an NCAA Tournament bid a season ago as the No. 4 seed in the Atlantic Regional. West Virginia State was slotted third (45 points, one first-place vote), followed by West Virginia Wesleyan (32), Davis & Elkins (31) and Glenville State (17).