COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines is the preseason favorite, following the results of the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll, unveiled Wednesday.  The Orediggers top the poll for the seventh consecutive season, earning seven first-place votes and 139 total points. The conference’s 13 head coaches determine the poll results and are not permitted to vote for their own team.
 
The Orediggers put on an offensive clinic in 2023, scoring 59 goals in their 22 matches, and will once again be a dominant force on that side of the ball. Standout freshman Bella Campos and reigning RMAC Player of the Year Reese McDermott look to build on their respective historic seasons that saw them combine for 27 of last season’s goals. Defensively, Mines’ back line will be anchored again by the conference’s Defender of the Year, Natalie Rouse, who highlighted a unit that compiled 15 clean sheets in 2023.
 
University of Colorado Colorado Springs received the other six first-place votes and 134 total points. The Mountain Lions won the NCAA Division II South Central Region in 2023 for the second time ever. Head coach J.B. Belzer has navigated the UCCS program to new heights in just four seasons and will lean on new and old faces as they seek to capture back-to-back regular season championships.
 
Colorado Mesa claims third place with 118 points. The Mavericks earned the league’s tournament title last season, ending a 25-year drought. First-year head coach Jody Lingafeldt inherits a roster full of key returners as she seeks to keep the program’s recent successes going. Junior Ally Wachtel and redshirt senior Sauvelyne Randel expect to make their impact known in 2024. Randel’s performance in the clutch – she scored seven game-winning goals last season – will be on display again.
 
Regis follows with 111 points, while Metropolitan State University of Denver earns 98 points to round out the poll’s top five.

Fort Lewis sits in sixth place with 86 points, narrowly ahead of Westminster (83 points). Colorado State University Pueblo tallied 69 points, while Adams State and Western Colorado tied for ninth place with 49 points each.

Colorado Christian (38 points), Black Hills State (27 points), and New Mexico Highlands (13 points) close out the 2024 poll results.

The women’s soccer season starts on Thursday, Sept. 5, with nonconference play. The conference slate is scheduled to begin on Thursday, Sept. 26, and builds up to the 2024 RMAC Women’s Soccer Tournament. The tournament begins Friday, Nov. 8, with the quarterfinals set for Sunday, Nov. 10, and a champion will be crowned on Sunday, Nov. 17.

Matches hosted by RMAC institutions throughout the season can be viewed live on the RMAC Network.