This continues our series of daily articles previewing each men's and women's college conference. All the conference previews can be found here.

Big South

If the head coaches in Big South women’s soccer are correct, we are in for a close battle at the top of league play between defending regular season champion Liberty and Charleston Southern.

The Flames return a lot of talent, including forward Maria Owen, goalkeeper Karen Blocker, midfielder Silvia Betancourt and defender Ella Lake. Charleston Southern has the preseason offensive player of the year in Marky Boyce, who led the conference with 13 goals last season, plus versatile defender Caitlyn Wesnesky.

High Point loses a number of players from last year’s squad that won the postseason Big South tournament and then threw a scare into eventual national champions North Carolina, losing 1-0 to the Tar Heels in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Returning for the Panthers are Jenay Whitaker, Danniel Rosado and Briell Spencer.

Radford’s Lisa Lubke is the preseason player of the year. The agile goalkeeper recorded 9 wins and 4 shutouts last season. Ben Sohrabi’s Highlanders will include 12 newcomers to the roster this season.

Tammy DeCesare’s Coastal Carolina Chanticleers look to improve on last year’s 7-win season, with Anna Tupy and Morgan Thomas among key returnees. At Gardner-Webb, Kevin Mounce’s Runnin’ Bulldogs return all-conference selections Sarah Keyser and Megan Reimer as well as midfielder Megan Tremblay.

Courtney Durbin and Trisha Vensel lead the returnees at Winthrop, while Sarah Strand at Kacey Hall are back at VMI.

Mary Kate Tucker in defense and Chloe McCleary-Small lead the way at UNC Asheville, while Presbyterian looks to improve on a 3-win season that saw it outscored 36-13 last season.

Atlantic Sun

Marisa Muller (Campbell)

Defending league champions Kennesaw State have a new stadium to play in and will be returning top players like Kristin Marrietta, but lose defensive player of the year Bridget Gaughan. Belmont tied the Owls for the regular season title and have Erica Carter, Jayme Trocino, Laura Harris and Gretchen Sutch back in the fold.

Tessa Gavilsky will be back doing her magic tricks on the field for Stetson. The two-time conference player of the year is equally gifted at scoring and creating goals. Freshman of the Year Danielle Faller and goalkeeper Stephanie Powers are back at Florida Gulf Coast(w).

At Mercer, Kacie Hudson, Olivia Tucker and Sara Elliot lead a strong returning contingent, while Jessica Hurtado is back at Jacksonville. Marisa Muller returns for Campbell and Ashlee Barrow is back at USC Upstate. Michele Larrinaga returns at North Florida.    

Heather Henson’s East Tennessee State Buccaneers will have lights at their new stadium this fall. Look for Terri Miller to supply the on-field electricity. Lipscomb’s Jon Ireland will field a team with only 4 players on the roster having played more than a year of college soccer. The team won 4 games last season.