ORLANDO, Fla.- The Palm Beach Atlantic women's soccer team was picked to finish in ninth place in the preseason Sunshine State Conference poll for the upcoming 2026 season.  The poll is voted on by the head coaches of the conference.   

The Sailfish return key starters from last year's team including Madison Kovar, Jordan Lavery, Abigail Longstaff, Maddie Hulme, and Meren Patton among others. The Sailfish fielded a young roster last season and seek to utilize that experience to improve this season.  

Head coach Stephanie Cradduck is heading into her third season at the helm with the Sailfish and is coming off a season in which PBA finished with an overall record of 3-8-5 and a 2-5-3 record in conference play. The Sailfish missed out on the SSC tournament finishing just one point shy of eight seeded Barry.  

Florida Tech, coming off their first national championship in program history, took the first spot in the poll earning 10 of the 11 first place votes as coaches are not allowed to vote for their own program. Nova Southeastern, who took down the national champs in the SSC tournament title game, earned the lone remaining first place vote. Eckerd, Embry-Riddle and Rollins rounded out the top five.  

The Sailfish kick off their 2026 season with home matches against USC-Beaufort and Georgian Court on Aug. 28 and Aug. 30, respectively. PBA heads to Barry on Sep. 16 to begin the SSC slate. The two teams played 180 minutes of action last season with neither team able to crack the scoresheet. PBA heads to Davie on Sep. 30 to take on the reigning SSC champion Sharks. A highlight of the home schedule happens on Oct. 14, when the Sailfish welcome the reigning national champion Florida Tech Panthers to the Rinker Athletic Campus.