Valparaiso University, set to play its inaugural season in the Horizon League, was predicted to finish in sixth place in the league’s 2007 preseason women’s soccer poll.

            Head coach Stephen Anthony’s squad returns 18 letterwinners, including 10 starters from last year’s 12-4-3 season, which saw the Crusaders win their second consecutive Mid-Continent Conference regular season crown.

            The Crusaders tallied 30 points in the preseason poll, trailing Detroit by two points for fifth place and Butler by just four points for fourth place.  Milwaukee, the defending seven-time Horizon League champion, was picked to win its eighth consecutive crown followed by Loyola and Wright State.  Green Bay, Youngstown State, and Cleveland State round out the bottom third of the preseason balloting.

            The voting, done by the league’s head coaches, awarded eight points for a first place vote through one point for an eighth place vote.  Coaches could not vote for their own team and one coach abstained from voting.

            Valparaiso will open the 2007 regular season on Friday, August 31, as the Crusaders host Murray State at Eastgate Field.  Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.