Newtown, Pa. (Women's Soccer) - The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom coaches have released their preseason poll ahead of the 2026 women's soccer season, and it's a virtual toss-up at the top between the league's last two champions.

Misericordia edged Stevens by a single point, 61 to 60, to take the top spot in the preseason poll, with the Cougars earning five first-place votes to Stevens' four. It's a fitting split after 2025 ended with Stevens dethroning Misericordia in the MAC Freedom Championship, snapping the Cougars' run of four straight conference titles.

Arcadia was picked third with 48 points, followed by Lebanon Valley in fourth with 40 points. Marywood rounds out the top five at 37 points.

The full preseason order: Misericordia (61 points, 5 first-place votes), Stevens (60, 4), Arcadia (48), Lebanon Valley (40), Marywood (37), DeSales (32), FDU-Florham (22), King's (16) and Delaware Valley (8).

2026 MAC Freedom Season Preview
Misericordia and Stevens enter 2026 with the league's most compelling rivalry still fresh off last November's title match. Stevens snapped Misericordia's 46-match unbeaten streak against MAC Freedom opponents with a 3-0 win in the championship, ending the Cougars' run of four straight conference crowns, and both programs are picked to pick up right where they left off. Misericordia loses a heavy senior class — Defensive Player of the Year Brenna Field, First Team honorees Olivia Maniskas and Haleigh Wintersteen among them — but brings back First Team junior forward Lily Heistand and Second Team midfielder Alyssa Steenback to lead the reload. Stevens counters with Tournament MVP Molly McCann, whose second-half brace sealed the championship and who returns as a senior after First Team midfielder honors, alongside Second Team pieces Taylor Truglia, Sophia Murphy, Abby Davis and Kaitlyn Pettit — enough returning production that coaches still made the Ducks a near-even pick to repeat.

Arcadia and Lebanon Valley sit just behind at three and four, each with pieces to make a push. Arcadia returns 2025 MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year Sadie Nugent, a First Team forward as a first-year who ranked among the conference leaders in shots and points, though the Knights will need to replace departing Second Team honorees Abby Stephens and Shelby Jones. Lebanon Valley brings back a deep group in Second Team forward Abrielle Miller, midfielder Megan Ressler, defender Emilee Walborn and goalkeeper Camryn Porter, giving the Dutchmen four returning All-Conference honorees to build around after a 13-4-2 season.

Further down the poll, Marywood, DeSales, FDU-Florham, King's and Delaware Valley will be jockeying for the fifth and final tournament spot under the new play-in format. DeSales returns Honorable Mention defender Catherine Crampton and goalkeeper Campbell Pacheco after a fifth-place finish in 2025, while King's brings back Honorable Mention goalkeeper Courtney Monard. With the top five teams now guaranteed a place in the postseason field, every one of these programs will be fighting for postseason positioning once conference play opens.

2025 MAC Freedom Championship Notes
Misericordia entered the 2025 MAC Freedom Tournament as the No. 1 seed after a perfect 7-0 run through conference play, extending the nation's longest active conference win streak into the championship match. But Stevens, the No. 2 seed, ended the run in dramatic fashion, riding a Molly McCann brace to a 3-0 win in the title game — the Ducks' first conference championship since 2019 and just the second time in program history Misericordia had lost a MAC Freedom match, regular season or postseason, since 2019. Misericordia reached the final with a 3-0 semifinal win over Arcadia, while Stevens advanced on a 90th-minute winner against Lebanon Valley. The result ended Misericordia's streak of four straight conference titles and sets up a rematch storyline heading into 2026.

2026 MAC Freedom Season Schedule

• Season opener: September 1, 2026
• Conference play begins: October 3, 2026
• Postseason format: The top five teams in the MAC Freedom standings will qualify for the conference tournament
  • Play-in game (No. 4 vs. No. 5): November 2, 2026
  • Semifinals: November 4, 2026
  • Championship: November 7, 2026