ST. LOUIS – The Westminster women's soccer team has been voted to finish third in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference by the conference's head coaches. The Blue Jays finished third in the poll behind Webster and Fontbonne and received one first place vote.

Key returners who look to lead the Blue Jays to a conference championship include junior forward Natalie Schulte (Linn Creek, Mo. / Camdenton), senior midfielder Madison Ekern (Chicago, Ill. / Whitney Young) and sophomore forward Kate Ponder (Ashland, Mo. / Southern Boone). Schulte finished last season with 29 points off 11 goals and seven assists and was voted second team All-SLIAC. Ponder looks to build on her impressive freshman season where she finished fourth on the team in points with 21 coming from eight goals and five assists.

Ekern, who has been third team All-SLIAC the past two seasons, finished last season with four goals and was a key defender for the Blue Jays. Also returning is senior goalkeeper Sarah Cradick (Maryland Heights, Mo. / Pattonville),  who also was voted third team All-Conference after a record-setting season where she led the conference in save percentage (.889) and goals-against average (.057) and recorded 10 shutouts.

The Blue Jays open their season with a home match against Simpson at 4:00 PM on August 30.

 Full poll:

Webster (9) 81
Fontbonne 65
Westminster (1) 63
Greenville 62
Spalding 52
MacMurray 38
Principia 32
Blackburn 27
Iowa Wesleyan
Eureka 10