WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University women's soccer team was unanimously selected first in the 2019 BIG EAST Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll for the fourth year in a row while claiming all nine first-place votes and 81 points. Additionally, senior Meaghan Nally (Herndon, Va. / South Lakes), the reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, garnered the preseason honor for the second year in a row as well as a spot on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Joining Nally on preseason team is senior Paula Germino-Watnick (Chevy Chase, Md. / Bethesda-Chevy Chase) and junior Kelly Ann Livingstone (Glen Ridge, N.J. / Glen Ridge).
The poll, major awards and Preseason All-BIG EAST Team are decided by a vote of the league's head coaches who are not permitted to vote for their own team. Butler (67 points), Providence (62 points), Xavier (55 points) and DePaul (46 points) rounded out the top five.
The Blue & Gray is looking for its fourth-straight BIG EAST Championship title and third-straight Regular Season Championship title. Last season, head coach Dave Nolan and his staff were named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the year while three Hoyas, including Nally, received player of the year awards. In addition, six Hoyas were named to the All-BIG EAST Team.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Georgetown received a No. 7-ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll after ending last season at No. 4. GU finished the 2018 campaign with an overall record of 21-1-3, the most wins in program history, and reached the College Cup for the second time in three years as a No. 1 seed. In addition to the team's accolades, Nolan and his staff were named the United Soccer Coaches National Coaching Staff of the Year.
Last week, Nally was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. She is one of six unanimous All-BIG EAST Team selections and one of two from Georgetown. The defender was selected in 2018 as the Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year later in the season. Nally anchored a Hoya defense that allowed just 10 goals and 15 shutouts on the season along with 199 total shots from GU's opponents in 25 games. The senior tallied nine points on the year from three goals and three assists. She was named a United Soccer Coaches Scholar First Team-All American and to the All-East Region First Team. This past spring, Nally was called up to the U.S. U-23 Women's National Team.
Germino-Watnick joined Nally on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List announced last week, being the only two players in the conference to receive the honors. She also received a unanimous vote on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. The senior ranked third on the squad in 2018 with 22 points from eight goals and six assists. She took 67 shots on the season and was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team and the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Second Team. She was also called up to the U.S. U-23 Women's National Team in the spring.
Livingstone finished the 2018 campaign with four points off of a pair of goals, one of which occurred in the NCAA Tournament. The junior defender joined Nally on the back line last season that boasted the nation's second best team goals against average (.384). The Hoya defense did not allow any team to score more than one goal against them all year and limited their BIG EAST opponents to just 4.0 shots on goal per game, more than doubling up its opponents in shots (152-69) and shots on goal (74-36).
The Blue & Gray will open the 2019 season on August 22 at James Madison at 7 p.m.
