Aug. 13, 1999
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Notre Dame’s four-time defending BIG EAST women’s soccer champions have been picked to finish first in the BIG EAST Mid-Atlantic division, according to a vote by the conference coaches. Senior goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene and defender Jen Grubb have been voted preseason players of the year for their respective positions for the second consecutive year. Senior Jenny Streiffer and junior Anne Makinen join Beene and Grubb on the preseason all-BIG EAST team. Notre Dame leads the all-BIG EAST team with four of the 11 selections. Seton Hall’s Kelly Smith has been voted BIG EAST preseason offensive player of the year.
Seton Hall stands second to the Irish in the Mid-Atlantic division followed by West Virginia, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Villanova and Georgetown. Connecticut is first in the Northeast division followed by Syracuse, Boston College, Miami, St. John’s and Providence.
Beginning with the 1999 season, the 13 competing BIG EAST schools will be divided into two divisions, the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic. Interdivisional games have been randomly selected and will not be reflected in conference records. Only games against teams within each division will count as the conference record, which will be used to determine the field for the eight-team BIG EAST championship. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the BIG EAST championship.
The Irish open their 1999 season under first-year head coach Randy Waldrum at Alumni Field on Sept. 3, at 7:30 p.m. against preseason top-ranked North Carolina at the KeyBank Classic. The two other teams in the four-team field, Connecticut and Duke, will play at 5:00 p.m. The Huskies will take on the Tar Heels on Sun., Sept. 5, at 11:00 a.m., followed by the Irish and the Blue Devils at 1:00 p.m.