LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The PacWest Conference Office announced its preseason recognitions for women's soccer on Tuesday, releasing the conference poll and Preseason All-PacWest selections as chosen by the coaches of the 12 PacWest programs. 

Head Coach Erin Brunelle's Biola Eagles were picked fourth in the preseason poll with 102 points while Madyson Brown and Katelyn Penner earned Preseason All-PacWest selections. Both results are improvements upon last season's preseason release for Biola, as the Eagles were picked fifth in the 2018 preseason poll and had just one Preseason All-PacWest student-athlete.

Biola was the fourth PacWest team to receive 100 points in the poll, finishing behind Point Loma, Concordia and Azusa Pacific. All 12 PacWest coaches tabbed Point Loma as the conference favorite and award the Sea Lions 144 points after they went 10-0-1 in conference matches a year ago and advanced to the second round of the NCAA West Regional. Concordia and APU posted 123 and 108 points, respectively, to finish ahead of Biola's 102 points. 

"In terms of the fourth-place projected finish, I think it's very on par with where our ladies minds and hearts are at. Though they are confident and ready to compete for a conference championship, a top-four finish is definitely in sight and I know that they want to do even better than that," said Coach Brunelle. "It will fill them with confidence. But also there's something left to prove and I think they're ready to do that."

The Eagles will play all of the top-three teams in an eight-day span from November 8 to 13 but start the first seven matches of their PacWest schedule with the teams that finished sixth through 12th in the preseason poll. Conference play kicks off in Northern California against 11th-ranked Holy Names and seventh-ranked Dominican on October 10th and 12th after the Eagles measure themselves in non-conference tilts at Point Loma and against Concordia. 

BU also returns six student-athletes who have earned All-PacWest honors over the past two years and is one of three programs to have multiple Preseason All-PacWest selections in Brown at defender and Penner in midfield. 

"Having Madyson back after sitting for a year, I know her teammates are excited to have her consistently out on the field in practice and the fire, intensity and the passion for the game that she brings flows onto the people around her," said Coach Brunelle. "She will continue to make our team better defensively and offensively as our forward go up against her in practice. And for her to be on that list after being absent for a year just speaks volumes as to what she's been able to contribute during her career."

Brown was a Second Team All-PacWest defender in 2017 and helped the Eagles to eight-straight shutouts to end her junior season before redshirting last year. She played every minute of Biola's regular season at centerback two years ago on her way to United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-West Region and NCCAA Player of the Year honors while Biola surrendered the fewest goals in the PacWest that season (13).

With her return to the backline this season, Brown will bring a great mix of speed, power and soccer IQ that will make her a difficult matchup for opposing attackers and that allow her to contribute to Biola's offense in set pieces.  

"It's great especially for Katelyn Penner, as a midfielder she was one of two of our ladies that were consistently in our midfield all last season. We had a lot of midfielders coming in and out with rotations but she was definitely someone who was a stable force in there and had a tremendous freshman season," said Brunelle. "We're looking forward to continuing to develop her and putting more responsibility on her shoulders as she grows."

Penner earned First Team All-PacWest honors as a true freshman in 2018 after starting all 18 of Biola's matches at center mid and logging almost 1,600 minutes, Penner's ability to cover ground on the pitch and win the ball in the midfield quickly made her a stabilizing presence for Biola match in and match out. 

But she also showed that she was able to step up in tense moments, with both of her goals and two of her three assists coming on the road. All seven of her points were recorded against PacWest opponents in 2018 and she picked up a game-winning goal at Academy of Art with less than 10 seconds left in the first overtime period. 

The Eagles will play the first of three preseason tuneups this Saturday against Hope International at 7 p.m. Following that scrimmage, they'll play an exhibition against Chapman at 3 p.m. on August 27 that will have live video and statistics and another scrimmage the following Saturday when Biola hosts Cal State San Bernardino. 

"Our preseason schedule in general is difficult and challenging and it's just going to prepare us for conference play," said Brunelle. "We have a lot of the top teams in the [West] Region that we're going up against and multiple games on the road so each game is going to be a challenge. We're gonna take it game by game, not looking past any opponent. But also coming with the confidence that we can take a win, even when we're not expected to.

"We're ready to prove ourselves right and wrong in certain ways. But also just to learn and grow and depend on each other throughout each minute," Brunelle concluded.