Valparaiso received 8 of the 11 first-place votes and has been picked as the favorite to win the 2022 MVC women’s soccer title in a vote of league coaches. The Beacons received 116 points to out-distance Indiana State (94 points), Murray State (85), Drake (81), and Evansville (80). Belmont (67), UNI (60), Missouri State (51), Illinois State (45), UIC (29), and Southern Illinois (14) complete the poll results. Belmont, Indiana State, and Murray State each received one first-place tally.
The Beacons return 20 letterwinners, including nine starters, from last year’s squad which finished as MVC regular season runner-up. Valpo lost in the tournament semifinals to Evansville and finished the 2021 campaign with a 10-6-2 overall record, the 10th 10-win season in program history. The Beacons were 6-1-1 in league play.
The Valley welcomes three women's soccer programs into the fold in 2022 with Belmont, UIC, and Murray State joining eight returning MVC squads to compete for the league crown this fall. Belmont finished third in the Ohio Valley Conference last season, while Murray State was fourth in the OVC. UIC competed in the Horizon League in 2021. Notably, of the 17 student-athletes to earn preseason MVC accolades, 11 received first-, second-, or honorable mention MVC or OVC honors last fall.
For only the second time in conference history, the MVC tournament will feature an eight-team field. The first round will take place on October 27, with quarterfinal matches set for October 30. The regular-season champion will host the semifinals on November 3 and the final on November 6.
#1 VALPARAISO
- The Beacons return 20 letterwinners, including nine starters, from last year’s squad which finished as MVC regular-season runner-up.
- Valpo senior and preseason all-MVC pick Kiley Dugan (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) has been recognized as a Player to Watch entering the 2022 soccer campaign by United Soccer Coaches.
- Nikki Coryell, Kelsie James, and Nicole Norfolk join Dugan on the MVC preseason squad. James led the Beacons last fall with nine goals and four assists. Coryell was outstanding in goal, recording a 1.15 goals against average and six shutouts.
- Each member of that foursome earned postseason MVC honors in 2021.
#2 INDIANA STATE
- After finishing third in 2021 and second in 2020 (Spring 2021), Indiana State is seeking its first MVC crown in 2022 under coach Julie Hanley.
- Indiana State finished last season with a 6-7-4 (4-2-2) record, and the Sycamores were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the league championship, ousted by Evansville by PKs.
- CeCe Wahlberg headlines ISU's three selections on the preseason all-MVC team as she was the team's top scorer in 2021 with six goals and three assists for 15 points. She's joined by teammates Maddie Alexander and Kloe Pettigrew among Sycamores to receive preseason accolades.
#3 MURRAY STATE
- The Racers return several key contributors from last season in top goal scorer Chloe Barnthouse and All-Conference performers Hailey Cole and Morgan Bodker. Cole was one of the top playmakers for the Racers in the Ohio Valley Conference a season ago, distributing six assists to lead the team.
- Cole and Barnthouse represent the Racers on the 2022 MVC preseason squad.
- MSU went 9-8-1 in 2021 to make it eight consecutive winning seasons for the program. The Racers begin their inaugural season as members of the Missouri Valley Conference in 2022 having won four OVC regular-season titles since 2015.
#4 drake
- The Bulldogs were 8-7-6 last season and tied for fifth in the MVC race.
- Three Bulldogs are on the league's preseason unit including Makenna Shepard, Emma Nagel, and Lily Overstreet.
- Shepard appeared in all 20 games and started 16. She tallied three goals, including the game-winner against UNI that secure the Bulldogs a spot in the MVC Tournament.
- Nagel recorded four goals, three of which were game-winners.
#5 EVANSVILLE
- Evansville returns 13 players who saw action last season this fall, including first-team all-MVC forward Emily Ormson (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago), and fellow all-conference defenders Emilie Hill (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Community) and Rachel Rosborough (Mt. Brydges, Ontario).
- The Aces fell in the conference tournament title match to league champ Loyola last fall.
- On the season, the Aces recorded 22 goals, the most by an Evansville team since the 2014 season. In the attack, Ormson led the way for the Aces, scoring seven times on the season, the most since Bronwyn Boswell tallied eight goals in 2016.
#6 BELMONT
- The Bruins are coming off an 8-8-1 campaign, finishing third in the OVC with a 5-3 conference record. The Bruins finished the 2021 season seeded third in the OVC Tournament, the highest seed in program history.
- Four Bruins earned All-OVC honors, including returning letterwinners Maci Pekmezian and Allison Brockelman.
- Pekmezian scored four goals for the Bruins last season, each of them being game-winning goals. She scored her first career goal against Detroit Mercy with only 12 seconds left in double overtime. She was a second-team all-OVC honoree.
- Loren House and Pekmezian tied for the team lead last year with four goals and eight points each.
#7 UNI
- The Panthers are coming off a 6-10-2 campaign, which included a 3-4-1 record in conference play.
- The team returns its top two scorers from last year, including Ashley Harrington (5 goals, 6 assists) and Lauren Heinsch (6 goals and two assists). Each is on the MVC's preseason unit this fall and represented the Conference on the 2021 second-team all-conference squad.
- For the first time since the program began in 2000, the UNI soccer team will host the entire non-conference portion of their season schedule. Through 17 games this season, the Panthers will spend 12 of those at home, not hitting the road for an away game until late September.
#8 MISSOURI STATE
- The Bears finished last year with a 5-7-5 record, including a 2-4-2 MVC mark.
- MSU opens up the Kirk Nelson era at home when they take on Central Arkansas on August 18. It will be the first time the Bears open the season at Allison South Stadium since 2018. He begins his first season at the helm, taking over the post after Rob Brewer retired after the 2021 season. Nelson served as the associate head coach under Brewer for the eight previous seasons.
- Grace O'Keefe and Isabel Burke represent MSU on the MVC's preseason unit. In her freshman season, O'Keefe led the MVC with seven assists this season. The Overland Park, Kan., native led the Bears with 13 points by tallying three goals and seven assists on the season.
#9 ILLINOIS STATE
- On May 23, 2022, Marisa Kresge was announced as Illinois State's head soccer coach, the sixth in program history and second female head coach. She is entering her first season as a collegiate head coach.
- The Redbirds were 4-10-3 overall and 2-3-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, but they failed to make the 2021 Conference Tournament last year.
- With seven points on the strength of three goals and an assist last year, Allison Baker is the team's top returning scorer from 2021. ISU returns two of its top six scorers from a year ago.
#10 UIC
- UIC returns all of its goal scoring from last season, along with eight of 11 starters. Megan Bowman had four goals to lead the squad last year.
- Coach David Nikolic is in his second season with UIC, and the Flames were 2-12-3 in 2021, which included a 2-7-2 mark as a member of the Horizon League.
- The Flames opened last season with four straight, and six of the first seven matches, on the road. In 2022, UIC has an even split of three home and three road non-conference matches, and will never play more than three consecutive matches away from Flames Field.
- The renovated facility will host its Grand Opening at UIC's initial MVC matches in September.
#11 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
- Southern Illinois introduced Craig Roberts as its new women's soccer head coach on March 15, 2022. Roberts has a 150-92-45 record in 15 seasons as a Division I collegiate head coach at Grambling State, Ball State, and UT Martin.
- The Salukis finished 0-15-1 overall in 2021.
- Maddy Alaluf has been a mainstay between the pipes for Southern Illinois as she played in 14 matches, starting 13 games in front of the Saluki net last year, and Alaluf ranked sixth in MVC in saves per game (4.50).
- Six of the team's seven point-scorers from last year return for SIU in 2022.