ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Southern Illinois was picked fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference’s Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll, the league announced Wednesday afternoon. Junior Guliana Balistreri was named to the Preseason Team.
Drake (96, seven first-place votes), Illinois State (83, two first-place votes), UIC (77), and Murray State (69) led the poll, while Indiana State (58) followed Southern in sixth.
Balistreri returns for the 2026 season after a big sophomore campaign. She appeared in and started all 19 games while setting a single-season record for minutes played with 1,713. She added one assist for one point during the year and was named to the All-MVC Second and Scholar-Athlete Teams.
The Dawgs begin their regular season this Thursday, Aug. 13, with a road match at Southeast Missouri.
