WESTERVILLE, Ohio - The Wilmington College women's soccer team has been picked to finish sixth in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) as the league revealed its annual Preseason Coaches Poll on Thursday morning.
Capital University, Ohio Northern University and Otterbein University, who have been atop the league tables for several years, are picked to finish there again in 2023 with at least one coach picking all three schools to win the league. The Comets lead the way with 78 points and seven first-place votes. John Carroll University, Baldwin Wallace University and WC round out the teams picked to finish in OAC Tournament-qualifying position. The complete poll is listed below:
| Place | School | Points (1st) | ||
| 1 | Capital | 78 (7) | ||
| 2 | Ohio Northern | 71 (2) | ||
| 3 | Otterbein | 66 (1) | ||
| 4 | John Carroll | 53 | ||
| 5 | Baldwin Wallace | 49 | ||
| 6 | Wilmington | 39 | ||
| 7 | Mount Union | 38 | ||
| 8 | Heidelberg | 26 | ||
| 9 | Marietta | 18 | ||
| 10 | Muskingum | 12 |
New to this year's OAC Polls are players to watch, and Haley Fulton and Alex Wilson are on the list for Wilmington. A mainstay in the Quakers' defensive unit, Fulton has been a starter since she stepped foot on campus in the fall of 2020. The senior has started 45 of a possible 46 games and assisted the WC offense with two goals and three assists. Wilson, the reigning OAC Co-Freshman of the Year and First Team All-OAC selection, is looking to build upon freshman campaign that saw her net a dozen goals and lead the team offensively.
The Quakers finished the 2022 season with a 10-8-0 overall record and a seventh-place finish the OAC, narrowly missing postseason play. Wilmington opens its 2023 campaign, the second for Head Coach Nick Kinder, at Earlham College on Sept. 1.
