On Wednesday afternoon, the Big Ten released its annual preseason coaches poll for women’s soccer, along with a list of “players to watch” heading into the upcoming season.
Ranked first in the poll, to the surprise of few, was Penn State. The Nittany Lions captured the 2019 Big Ten title and returned a strong core from their championship group. Future Portland Thorn Sam Coffey will be entering her second (and final) season in State College as arguably the best player in both the conference and possibly even the country. With Coffey back alongside redshirt sophomore Ally Schlegel, who led the Big Ten in both points and (jointly) goals in a utterly torrid redshirt freshman campaign, expectations will be high for the blue and white this spring.