Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
WSOC | Poland Named to Preseason All-WCC Team
8/12/2021 10:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
SAN MATEO, Calif. — On the morning of the first exhibition of the season for Saint Mary's, they've learned that one of their own has been named to the All-WCC preseason team for the first time in her career. That honor goes to sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Poland, one of two sophomores on the list and the only goalie. This distinction comes in conjunction with the WCC Preseason Poll, which has the Gaels finishing sixth in the conference.
Poland put up one of the best seasons by a goalkeeper in Saint Mary's history as a freshman while earning the distinction of being named the WCC's Goalkeeper of the Year. She drew every start on the year and played all but 11 minutes, racking up an 85.9% save percentage and a tidy 0.77 goals-against average. Her save percentage was tops in the WCC and her goals-against average was the fourth-lowest in Saint Mary's history. She became the first SMC goalie to be named All-WCC since Ruth Montgomery in 2002.
Of the 11 players on the Preseason All-WCC team, four are from the defending national champions, Santa Clara. BYU took home a pair of spots, as did Pepperdine, while Gonzaga and Portland make up the remaining spots. Eight of the 11 players selected are seniors, with Poland and Sally Menti (Santa Clara) as the only sophomores, and Izzy D'Aquila (Santa Clara) as the lone junior.
In the Preseason Poll, the Gaels were chosen to finish sixth overall after a fifth-place finish during the 2021 spring season. Santa Clara and BYU take home the top-two spots in the standings, while Pepperdine, Gonzaga, and Portland are all projected above SMC. Last season, the Gaels beat Portland in their road finale and also forced a draw against BYU in their penultimate home game.
The complete Preseason All-WCC team and Preseason Poll can be found below.
2021 WCC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll (FALL)
#GaelsRise — Single game tickets are on sale through the month of September! To select your game and your tickets, click HERE!
Poland put up one of the best seasons by a goalkeeper in Saint Mary's history as a freshman while earning the distinction of being named the WCC's Goalkeeper of the Year. She drew every start on the year and played all but 11 minutes, racking up an 85.9% save percentage and a tidy 0.77 goals-against average. Her save percentage was tops in the WCC and her goals-against average was the fourth-lowest in Saint Mary's history. She became the first SMC goalie to be named All-WCC since Ruth Montgomery in 2002.
Of the 11 players on the Preseason All-WCC team, four are from the defending national champions, Santa Clara. BYU took home a pair of spots, as did Pepperdine, while Gonzaga and Portland make up the remaining spots. Eight of the 11 players selected are seniors, with Poland and Sally Menti (Santa Clara) as the only sophomores, and Izzy D'Aquila (Santa Clara) as the lone junior.
In the Preseason Poll, the Gaels were chosen to finish sixth overall after a fifth-place finish during the 2021 spring season. Santa Clara and BYU take home the top-two spots in the standings, while Pepperdine, Gonzaga, and Portland are all projected above SMC. Last season, the Gaels beat Portland in their road finale and also forced a draw against BYU in their penultimate home game.
The complete Preseason All-WCC team and Preseason Poll can be found below.
2021 WCC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll (FALL)
| Place | Team | First Place | Points |
| 1. | No. 2 Santa Clara | 8 | 80 |
| 2. | No. 15 BYU | 2 | 74 |
| 3. | RV Pepperdine | 65 | |
| 4. | Gonzaga | 54 | |
| 5. | Portland | 49 | |
| 6. | Saint Mary's | 39 | |
| 7. | San Francisco | 38 | |
| 8. | LMU | 19 | |
| 9. | San Diego | 17 | |
| 10. | Pacific | 15 |
| 2021 All-WCC Women's Soccer Preseason Team | |||
| Name | Institution | Yr. | Pos. |
| Joelle Anderson | Pepperdine | Sr.* | M |
| Mikayla Colohan | BYU | Sr.* | M |
| Izzy D'Aquila | Santa Clara | Jr. | M |
| Alex Loera | Santa Clara | Sr.* | D/M |
| Sally Menti | Santa Clara | So. | F |
| Taylor Poland | Saint Mary's | So. | GK |
| Taryn Ries | Portland | Sr.* | F |
| Jordan Thompson | Gonzaga | Sr.* | D |
| Cameron Tucker | BYU | Sr.* | F |
| Kelsey Turnbow | Santa Clara | Sr.* | F |
| Trinity Watson | Pepperdine | Sr. | D |
#GaelsRise — Single game tickets are on sale through the month of September! To select your game and your tickets, click HERE!
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