With the college season just days away we continue our college preview series with two more conferences on the women's side.

Southern Conference

The emergence of two super freshman last season provided a window into the leadership of the UNC Greensboro program for the next few years to come. Leading scorer Tabitha Padgett and dangerous attacker Lauren Hein will now be focal points as sophomore and will likely cushion the loss of key players Kristin Player and Lauren Lopez.

A roster of sixteen underclassmen makes it hard to prognosticate when it comes to College of Charleston. But the Cougars have built a strong program and will return junior points leader Hannah Gmerek and Annie Pease.

The loss of potent scorer Amber Cress, who led the team in goals and points last season, will be somewhat of a setback for Samford. Junior Sara Wilkinson along with senior forward Leah Leppert will attempt to pick up the slack. 

With sophomores Shannon Foley and Scarlett Fakhar, Elon has some burgeoning talent to be excited about. Senior Brittany Hallberg will also be returning as the Phoenix try to make a climb to the top of the conference.

The Cinderella story of 2009, Davidson won the conference tourney with a dramatic win over College of Charleston. Kyri Bye-Nagel was the leader of that squad, and she has departed leaving the program to try and duplicate its success without a clear superstar.

Western Carolina lost a trio of stars in Rachael Shomper, Shannon Fowkes and Biri Cunningham while Furman will rely heavily on junior Martha Hall who notched nine goals (third in conference) last season.

Of the bottom teams from 2009, which includes: Appalachian State, Wofford, The Citadel and Georgia Southern, UT Chattanooga is the most intriguing due to tandem Becca Smith and Donna Kay Henry - the top two goal scorers in the conference last season.

CUSA

UCF set the regular season standard a year ago in Conference USA, and if they are to repeat the feat they’ll have to do it without their most pivotal attackers. All Conference performers Courtney Whidden, Becca Thomas and Nikki Moore have all graduated but the promise of a handful All Freshman team returners marks the dawn of a new era.

A key ingredient to the success of Colorado College in 2009 came as a result of their stout defense which ranked second in the conference in shutouts and first in goals allowed average. On that note, goalkeeper Caitlin Hulyo will be back in goal as will key defensive members and leading scorer Tiffany Brown.

As the reigning three-time Conference USA Tournament champions, the MemphisTigers have repeatedly shown they can get it done in the key spot. Expect more of the same with Offensive Player of the Year Ashley Berra returning along with Alena Strnadova and sound goalkeeper Elise Kuhar-Pitters.

UTEP probably lost more than it gained in the offseason as the program said goodbye to first teamers Tameka Sumter and Chelsea Winbush. Skye Schultz is a strong holdover from last season but for a team that depended heavily on offensive firepower, that may not be enough.

UAB will attempt to improve on a stagnant offense from 2009 while leaning on the leadership of all conference returners Tiffini Turpin and Marie Yempuku.

The rest of the Conference USA pack will be trying to climb out of mediocrity and into strong intention. These programs include SMU, Marshall, East Carolina, Rice, Tulsa, Houston and Southern Mississippi.