MELBOURNE, Fla. – A year removed from a trip to the Sunshine State Conference Tournament final, and 20 returners back in the fold, Nova Southeastern has once again been picked to compete for the league title in 2017. Garnering two first-place votes, and 82 overall, the Sharks were selected to finish third in the SSC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced on Tuesday afternoon.  
 
The Sharks narrowly missed out on earning the nod as the preseason favorite, trailing only Barry and Embry-Riddle among the early rankings. Barry, winners of the last two conference tournament crowns, received 89 total votes to lead the pack. Meanwhile, Embry-Riddle landed in second in the poll with 83 tallies following an 8-5-2 record in 2016. This fall will mark the Eagles' first season as an official member of the SSC.
 
Nova Southeastern has enjoyed recent success by collecting 12 wins in each of the past two seasons in addition to consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. However, third-year head coach John Constable hopes his team's experience can carry it even further heading into 2017.
 
"We have a tough schedule, but we believe we have tough players that believe in what we're doing," said Constable. "We're driven by progression in this program, and ultimately we want to continue to progress further this year like we've been doing. We hope to qualify for the NCAA Tournament again, but we'd like to do more than just say 'hi and bye'. At the same time, we know how tough that is. Our expectations are realistic for our program, but are also realistic for many teams in our conference. That's certainly why it's the best conference in the country at the Division II level. "
 
Rollins comes in at No. 4 in the polls, followed by defending SSC champion Saint Leo and Tampa, who split the final two first-place votes.
 
NSU is set to make its 2017 debut at home against North Alabama on Friday, September 1. To stay up-to-date with the Sharks throughout the season, follow along on Twitter @NSU_WSoccer.
 
A complete look at the preseason poll is provided below.
 
2017 SSC WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES POLL

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

School (FPV*) Barry (2) Embry-Riddle (5) Nova Southeastern (2) Rollins Saint Leo (1) Tampa (1) Florida Tech Eckerd Palm Beach Atlantic Florida Southern Lynn

Total Votes 89 83 82 67 66 64 60 33 26 23 12

*First Place Votes