LATROBE, Pa. – Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference coaches predicted that the Penn State Altoona women's soccer team will finish in third place this season, as the league released the results of its 2025 Preseason Coaches' Poll on Monday afternoon.

Two-time defending AMCC champion Penn State Behrend placed atop the standings in the preseason poll, while Pitt-Greensburg was the runner-up.

Penn State Altoona women's soccer navigated its way to a third-place finish in the AMCC's regular season standings last fall, when the Lions went 5-2-1 within the conference and 6-9-2 overall. The team reached the semifinal round of the AMCC Tournament.

Senior defender/midfielder Rachel Rutkowski (Canonsburg, PA/Canon-McMillan) and sophomore defender Madeline Boser (Beaver, PA/Beaver) were named in the preseason poll as "Players to Watch" this season for Penn State Altoona, which is led by 15th-year head coach Pam Snyder Etters.

Rutkowski was a second-team All-AMCC selection last season as a midfielder. She scored two goals and recorded one assist while pulling the trigger on 19 shots, placing 10 on goal.

Boser was voted to the third team of the All-AMCC squad last year, when she started all 17 games as a freshman. She helped spearhead a defense that ranked third in the AMCC in goals-against average (1.94) and shutouts (7).

Penn State Altoona women's soccer begins its 2025 regular season on the road Friday, August 29, traveling to play Wilson College at 5 p.m.