LATHAM, N.Y. – Defending champion Penn State Harrisburg and St. Mary’s College of Maryland share the top spot in the 2026 United East Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll. Each program received six first-place votes and 116 total points.

The poll was voted on by the conference’s 12 head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own teams. Penn College ranked third with 99 points, while Penn State Berks and Lancaster Bible College tied for fourth with 86 points apiece.

Penn State Harrisburg enters the fall following the most successful season in program history. The Lions went 8-0 in conference play without allowing a goal and captured their second consecutive United East championship after advancing past St. Mary’s in a penalty shootout.

Harrisburg continued its postseason run by defeating host and No. 14 Christopher Newport, 2-1, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Lions followed with a 1-0 victory over No. 11 Rowan, with Kylie Yap scoring the game-winning goal with 82 seconds remaining.

The victories sent Harrisburg to the NCAA Sweet 16 and made the Lions the first team in school history to advance beyond the second round of an NCAA Tournament. Harrisburg finished the season with a program-record 16 victories and was ranked No. 23 nationally.

The Lions will begin a new era under Matt Garrett, who was hired to lead the program following Brandon West’s departure. Garrett brings nearly two decades of Division III head-coaching experience after earning 158 victories during 18 seasons at Gettysburg. He guided the Bullets to 13 Centennial Conference Tournament appearances and a pair of NCAA Tournament berths.

“I am really honored and excited to coach this team and continue the amazing work from all the coaches and players over the last few years,” Garrett said.
Harrisburg enters Garrett’s first season ranked No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25 Poll, marking the program’s first preseason national ranking.

A group of six seniors and graduate students headlines an experienced returning core. Yap, the 2024 United East Defensive Player of the Year and a United Soccer Coaches All-Region honoree, returns after providing the decisive goal against Rowan. She is joined by defender Ava Myers, who recorded seven goals and two assists last season and was named the United East Championship’s Most Valuable Player after scoring twice in the title match.

Six former All-Region selections return for Harrisburg, including Abigail Frew, Julia Hughes, Mackenzie Mowery, Sydney Mulka, Myers and Yap. All-Conference performers Olivia Sgrignioli, Kara Slavin and goalkeeper Alexis Valenta also return.

“The key for this team will be to keep everyone healthy and ready to compete at a high level,” Garrett said. “We have the quality and senior leadership to have a successful run in the conference again this season.”

St. Mary’s earned its share of the top spot after going 8-0 in conference play and finishing 13-6-3 overall last fall. The Seahawks allowed just two goals during the conference season before advancing to the United East championship game for the second consecutive year.

Head coach Peter Krech, a 2009 St. Mary’s graduate, returns most of last year’s starting group and has added six freshmen and three transfers.

“One of the things that excites me most about this year’s team is the depth that we should have overall,” Krech said. “We are adding six freshmen and three transfers, and we believe they will all be able to contribute in various ways this season. After graduating only two or three starters from last year’s team, the incoming players will join a core that has two straight years of making it to the United East championship game. I am excited to see the new players push the returning core."

"Hopefully, fans will see a very gritty and tenacious team defensively while also looking to play an attractive style that allows us to create more attacking chances overall,” Krech added.

Team captains Megan Rusk, Keira O’Neail and Allie Petryszak will lead the Seahawks. Rusk scored a team-high seven goals and added one assist last season, while O’Neail registered six goals and three assists for 15 points. Both midfielders earned First Team All-Conference honors.

Petryszak anchored the St. Mary’s back line while contributing five goals. She was named the 2025 United East Defensive Player of the Year, earned First Team All-Conference recognition and landed on the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team.

“The biggest key to our team’s success this season will be related to our team culture and ensuring that every player is willing to embrace her role within the team,” Krech said. “We believe that we have the talent to compete for the United East championship, but we need to ensure that our culture and connections are strong enough not to crack during the times of inevitable adversity. We will also be focusing on mental toughness and the ability to maintain our composure and quality, especially during the hardest moments and more stressful periods within games and across the season overall.”

Penn College ranked third after finishing 15-2-2 overall and 7-1 in conference play last season. The Wildcats return 14 upperclassmen, along with reigning United East Rookie of the Year Ella Garman. Garman earned First Team All-Conference honors after recording 13 goals and four assists during her first season in Williamsport.

Penn State Berks and Lancaster Bible tied for fourth in the preseason poll after each program went 5-3 in conference play last fall. Berks finished 8-8-2 overall and advanced to the United East semifinals, while Lancaster Bible recorded a 10-7 overall mark.

Penn State Abington ranked sixth with 64 points, followed by Notre Dame of Maryland University in seventh with 62 points. Wilson College received 52 points to place eighth, while Cairn University ranked ninth with 45 points.

Penn State Brandywine placed 10th with 28 points, Cedar Crest College followed in 11th with 25 points and Keystone College rounded out the poll in 12th with 13 points.
The complete 2026 United East Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll is listed below.
 

	Team	Points	First-Place Votes
T1	St. Mary's College of Maryland	116	6
T1	Penn State Harrisburg	116	6
3	Penn College	99
T4	Lancaster Bible College	86
T4	Penn State Berks	86
6	Penn State Abington	64
7	Notre Dame of Maryland University	62
8	Wilson College	52
9	Cairn University	45
10	Penn State Brandywine	28
11	Cedar Crest College	25
12	Keystone College	13