West Coast Conference coaches narrowly picked BYU women's soccer second in the preseason poll, the league announced Thursday.
The Cougars tied Santa Clara with five first-place votes, but the Broncos had 76 total points, compared to BYU's 75. Pepperdine's 68 points put the Waves at No. 3. Despite having a conference-high four players on the All-WCC Preseason Team, Loyola Marymount had the fourth-most points in the coaches poll.
BYU was edged out despite its five-straight WCC titles. In the United Coaches' preseason poll, which was released on Aug. 3, the Cougars were ranked No. 8. Coming in at No. 24, Santa Clara was the only other ranked WCC team.
Taylor Isom and Nadia Gomes were selected to the All-WCC Preseason Team. Isom was named WCC Defensive Player of the Year last season and claimed first-team honors. She's racking up the preseason honors, having been named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list earlier this week. Gomes was the WCC Player of the Year in 2015 and earned second-team honors last year.
From last season's team, BYU lost WCC Player of the Year Michele Vasconcelos, along with first-team honorees Ashley Hatch and Elena Medeiros. The Cougars are young this season, with seven newcomers, two returned missionaries and 17 underclassmen on their 28-player roster.