SELINSGROVE, PA - The Susquehanna University women's soccer team has been picked to finish fourth in the Commonwealth Conference during the upcoming season, according to the league's eight head coaches.

Entering its 10th season as a varsity sport, the Crusader women's soccer team is coming off its first postseason appearance in 2002 when Susquehanna finished 8-8-3 overall and in second place in the league with a 4-1-2 mark. The Crusaders knocked off Elizabethtown 2-1 in the conference semifinals before losing 3-0 at eventual NCAA Division III runner-up Messiah in the championship match.

Fifth-year head coach Jim Findlay, the 2002 Commmonwealth Conference Coach of the Year, will welcome back nine starters from last season's squad, including first-team All-Conference selections Melissa Karschner in goal, Lauren Haner on defense and Lindsay Nevins at forward.

Messiah received six first-place votes to earn the top spot in the poll in search of its third straight conference title, followed by Lebanon Valley, Elizabethtown, Susquehanna, Moravian, Widener, Juniata and Albright. Both Lebanon Valley and Susquehanna earned a first-place vote from the coaches in the survey in addition to Messiah's six votes.

The top four teams in the standings will compete in the conference playoffs for the league title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer tournament.

The Crusaders open the 2003 season on Saturday, September 6 against Notre Dame (Md.) in the inaugural Susquehanna Classic. Susquehanna battles Albright in the conference opener on Saturday, October 4.