Big South Announces 2025 Women's Soccer Preseason Poll & Honors
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – For the first time, defending women’s soccer champion
USC Upstate has been voted the favorite in the annual Big South Conference preseason poll by the league’s head coaches, it was announced today by the conference office. In addition, the coaches voted USC Upstate’s
Dara Russo (Miamisburg, Ohio) the Preseason Forward of the Year, Radford’s
Lilly Short (Georgetown, Del.) the Preseason Midfielder of the Year, Upstate’s
Catarina Dantas (Boca Raton, Fla.) the Preseason Defender of the Year, and High Point’s
Aubrey McKessy (Canyon Country, Calif.) the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
The Spartans, under the direction of fourth-year head coach
Sharif Saber, collected five of the nine first-place votes and 76 total points in being voted the preseason favorite for the first time as Big South members (since 2018). In 2024, Upstate won the Big South regular-season championship with a 5-1-2 league record and finished 10-5-4 overall following its first-ever Big South women’s soccer conference championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans return seven starters and 18 overall players from last season’s squad.
High Point was voted second behind Upstate with 75 points and received the remaining four first-place votes.
Radford totaled 60 points to finish third in the poll, and was followed by
Longwood (48 points).
Charleston Southern landed in the fifth spot (40 points), with
Presbyterian College (38 points) in the sixth position.
UNC Asheville claimed seventh in the polling (33 points), followed by
Winthrop (eighth, 21 points) and
Gardner-Webb (ninth, 14 points).
Russo is the two-time reigning Big South Offensive Player of the Year as well as a three-time All-Conference honoree, and is the league’s active career leader in goals (30) and points (68). In 2024, Russo started all 19 matches and totaled a conference-best 23 points behind nine goals and five assists. She scored nine goals on 56 shots (27 on goal), with scores against Queens, VMI, College of Charleston, South Dakota State, High Point (regular-season and tournament), Winthrop and Presbyterian (tournament). A member of the Big South All-Tournament Team, Russo accumulated 1,396 minutes and two complete matches last season, and tallied a point in ten different matches. She collected five first-place votes and 21 points in the preseason voting, ahead of High Point’s
Sabba Haghgoo (13 points and one first-place vote) and Radford’s
Paige Olson (12 points and three first-place votes).
Short repeats as the Preseason Midfielder of the Year honoree, as the award was added ahead of the 2024 season. The Big South leader in goals (10) and points (23) in 2024, Short became one of Radford’s premier scorers last year as she set career-highs for goals, points, shots (34), shots on goal (25), game-winners (2) and minutes played (1,479). She was voted First-Team All-Conference and earned her second All-Tournament Team nod, in addition to a spot on the VaSID All-State team. The 2023 Big South Tournament MVP had Radford’s first multi-goal effort in the 2024 opener resulting in a 4-1 win over William & Mary (Aug. 15), netted the game-winner in a pivotal conference match against High Point (Oct. 23) and also had a multi-goal effort -- the only Highlander to have two in 2024 -- against South Carolina State (Aug. 25). Short scored goals in both of Radford’s postseason matches against UNC Asheville (Nov. 2) and High Point (Nov. 7). She received seven first-place votes and 22 points in the preseason Midfielder of the Year voting, ahead of USC Upstate’s
Paige Armstrong (14 points and one first-place vote).
Dantas, named the 2024 Big South Tournament MVP, is a two-time All-Conference selection during her time at Upstate. She appeared and started in 18 matches last season, and totaled two points behind two assists from her defender spot. Dantas tallied 12 shots (seven on goal) and accumulated 1,488 minutes on the pitch with six complete matches. Dantas was the Big South Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 20. In the Preseason Defender of the Year balloting, Dantas received 18 points and five first-place votes, ahead of High Point’s
Caroline Dewey (13 points and two first-place votes) and Longwood’s
Sydney Robertson (13 points and two first-place votes).
McKessy was the Big South Newcomer of the Year as well as a Second-Team All-Big South honoree in 2024. She led the circuit with eight shutouts, and finished the campaign with a 1.06 goals-against average, 48 saves, .727 save percentage and 9-5-3 record in net for the Panthers. McKessy faced a career-high 20 shots with a season-high six saves at Virginia Tech (Sept. 1), made a diving PK save among her six stops on the road at UNC Wilmington (Sept. 8), and amassed 1524:30 minutes in her 17 appearances (all starts). She collected 10 points and three first-place votes in the balloting, ahead of Radford’s
Lexi Radvanyi (seven points and three first-place votes) and Longwood’s
Sara Curtis (seven points and two first-place votes).
The 2025 Big South women’s soccer season begins Thursday, Aug. 14, while Conference play opens Saturday, Sept. 20. The top six teams in the final Big South standings will qualify for the 2025 Big South Women’s Soccer Championship, which is slated for Nov. 1-9. The championship will open with two first round matches on campus the weekend of Nov. 1-2, followed by the Semifinals (Nov. 6) and Finals (Nov. 9) at the SportsPlex in Matthews, N.C. The champion receives the Big South’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
2025 BIG SOUTH PRESEASON WOMEN’S SOCCER HONORS
Preseason Forward of the Year: Dara Russo, USC Upstate
Preseason Midfielder of the Year: Lilly Short, Radford
Preseason Defender of the Year: Catarina Dantas, USC Upstate
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year: Aubrey McKessy, High Point
2025 BIG SOUTH PRESEASON WOMEN’S SOCCER POLL
| RK - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - USC Upstate (5) |
76 |
| 2 - High Point (4) |
75 |
| 3 - Radford |
60 |
| 4 - Longwood |
48 |
| 5 - Charleston Southern |
40 |
| 6 - Presbyterian College |
38 |
| 7 - UNC Asheville |
33 |
| 8 - Winthrop |
21 |
| 9 - Gardner-Webb |
14 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system, with first-place votes receiving 9 points, followed by 8 points for second-place, and so on.