Greenville, SC – In the 2026 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, defending tournament runner-up, Francis Marion University was picked atop the poll with 2025 champion Belmont Abbey College in second place.
The Patriots won the Conference Carolinas East Division each of the last two years while taking the tournament title in 2024 before finishing runner-up in 2025. Francis Marion earned 220 points and 10 first place votes in the poll. 2025 Northwest Division champion, Belmont Abbey, earned five first place votes and 204 points to land in the second spot.
UNC Pembroke comes in third with 192 points while 2025 Southwest Division champion, Young Harris College, is fourth with 166 points. Chowan University rounds out the top five with 145 points.
Converse University is sixth with 142 points, Lees-McRae College is seventh with 141 points, and they are followed by North Greenville University at eighth with 118 points. Emmanuel University comes in ninth with 115 points and the final first place vote while Ferrum College rounds out the top 10 with 99 points.
The University of Mount Olive (88), Southern Wesleyan University (86), Barton College (82), King University (58), Erskine College (40) and Shorter University (24) round out the poll.
Southern Wesleyan comes off a strong 2025 season where they went 6-8-3 overall and were 6-4-3 in Conference Carolinas action. The Warriors picked up key victories over both the University of Mount Olive Trojans and the Lees-McRae Bobcats to allow them to advance to the Conference Carolinas Championship Tournament. However, the Warriors fell to the Bobcats of Lees-McRae in the first round of the tournament.
The Warriors will return their leading scorer in senior All-Conference defender Karina Pashkovets. Pashkovets will be joined by the Warriors returners Ashley Caballero and Ella Beasley. Both Caballero and Beasley led the Warriors in assists during the 2025 season. Ester Carabano will join Hannah Weidner in the goal. Southern Wesleyan will bring in several key newcomers including Player to Watch Lucia Fernandez.
Southern Wesleyan will open up the 2026 regular season on August 29 as they travel to Anderson, SC to take on the Anderson Trojans at 7pm. They will host their home opener on September 2 as they welcome the Barry Buccaneers to Childs Field for a 6pm kickoff. The Warriors will open up Conference Carolinas action on September 5 as they travel to Young Harris, GA to take on the Mountain Lions of Young Harris. They will then host their first conference match of the season on September 12 as they welcome the Barton Bulldogs to Central, SC.
The 2026 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Championship is scheduled to start with preliminary rounds on October 28 and 31 before the semifinals and final will be competed at Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, North Carolina on November 5 and 7.
The preseason poll was voted on by the league's head coaches and they can't vote for their own school.
