LANCASTER, Pa. The Ursinus College women's soccer team was selected 10th in the Centennial Conference preseason poll that was released on Wednesday. 

Leading the Centennial Conference is Johns Hopkins who received seven first place votes with 98 points. Also earning first place votes was Swarthmore who received four and finished five points behind Johns Hopkins with 92 points. The Bears come in at 10th with 26 points and trail Franklin & Marshall (30) by four points for ninth. 

The Bears are coming off of their first winning season since 2015 and return two of their players that were named honorable mention Centennial Conference last season - junior goalie Sabrina Doherty and sophomore defender Kayla O'Malley. Ursinus defeated three of the squads picked ahead of it in the early projection, edging regionally ranked Dickinson in overtime as well as Franklin & Marshall and Washington College, and the Bears return eight starters from a group that finished 8-7-2 overall and 4-6 in conference play.

Doherty has solidified herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the Centennial Conference. The rising junior earned All-Centennial Conference honorable mention for the second year in a row last season as she topped the conference in saves (86) and third in save percentage. She tallied six shutouts and recorded a pair of games with double-digit saves. 

O'Malley capped off her freshman season by becoming the third freshman in program history to earn all-conference honors. The rookie anchored a defense that tallied seven clean sheets and allowed 18 goals in 17 games. the now rising sophomore started every game and recorded her first career point on an assist in a 1-0 victory over Alvernia. 

The Bears will be without their leading goal scorer from a year ago in Mackenzie Groff. However, rising sophomore forward Kelly Gardus will look to take her place. Gardus was the only other player to score five or more goals last season for the Bears and scored her five goals on six shots. All five of her shots on goal last season were goals. 

The Bears will kick off their season on August 30 at home against Keystone at 7:30 p.m.