SAN BRUNO, Calif. --- Portland junior Kimberly Hazlett was named to the All-West Coast Conference Preseason Women's Soccer Team as the league released their preseason poll on Thursday. Hazlett also landed on the all-preseason team in 2017.
Hazlett, who originally hails from Bellingham, Wash., was named to All-WCC Second Team following her sophomore campaign last fall. She ended the 2017 season with one goal and one assist, and she was second on the team with 10 shots on goal. Hazlett has earned all-league honors all three years with the Pilots.
No. 18 Pepperdine and No. 19 Santa Clara each earned five first-place votes in the 2018 WCC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, but the Broncos edged the Waves by one point overall to be named the favorite to claim the title in the annual preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
Santa Clara earned 77 points to go with five first-place votes while defending regular season champion Pepperdine finished one point behind with 76 points despite also tallying five first-place votes.
Portland, which is under the guidance of first-year head coach Michelle French, was tabbed to finish seventh, ahead of Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, and Pacific. French is a Portland soccer alum who took over the women's program last December. The Pilots return the bulk of their roster, 17 letterwinners and eight starters, from 2017, while adding four freshmen and two transfers.
BYU came in third in the poll with 66 points, followed by San Diego, LMU, and San Francisco.
The preseason poll and All-WCC team were selected solely by a vote of the conference's 10 head coaches.
The 2018 campaign begins with Pacific travelling to George Washington on Thursday, Aug. 16 with the remaining nine teams starting play on Friday, Aug. 17, including Portland's opener against Northern Arizona at Merlo Field.
2018 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
Team (First Place Votes), Points
1. Santa Clara (5), 77
2. Pepperdine (5), 76
3. BYU, 66
4. San Diego, 52
5. Loyola Marymount, 49
6. San Francisco, 40
7. Portland, 32
8. Gonzaga, 31
9. Saint Mary's, 14
10. Pacific, 13
2018 ALL-WCC PRESEASON WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM
Name, Institution , Yr., Pos.
Joelle Anderson, Pepperdine, Soph., M/F
Mikayla Colohan, Brigham Young, So., M
Julie Doyle, Santa Clara, Soph., F
Maddy Gonzalez, Santa Clara, Jr., F
Madeline Gotta, Gonzaga, Jr., F
Hailey Harbison, Pepperdine, R-Sr., D/F
Kimberly Hazlett, Portland, Jr., M/F
Summer Mason, San Diego, Sr., M/F
Brielle Preece, Pepperdine, R-Sr., GK
Kelsey Turnbow, Santa Clara, So., F
Emma Tyrnauer, Loyola Marymount, R-Sr., M
