After battling for the conference championship last November, Notre Dame and Connecticut have been picked to capture the 2001 Big East WomenÆs Soccer regular season divisional titles as voted by the conference coaches. The Fighting Irish are the unanimous choice to repeat as Mid-Atlantic Division champions, while the Huskies are picked to finish the regular season atop the Northeast Division. The Irish complied a 23-1-1 record last season en route to their sixth straight Big East title and second straight national semifinal game appearance. The Co-Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Vanessa Pruzinsky, will lead the Irish. PruzinskyÆs solid defense earned her Big East Rookie of the Year honors in 1999. Last season Connecticut captured the Northeast Division title with a 17-7-2 record. Returning for the Huskies is Big East Co-Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Casey Zimny. UConn lost to Nebraska in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. West VirginiaÆs Katie Barnes was chosen as the Big East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Barnes was the MountaineersÆ leading scorer with 43 points on 17 goals and nine assists. She will once again lead the MountaineersÆ offense. Barnes was the 2000 Big East Offensive Player of the Year. The Big East Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year is the PittsburghÆs Rachel Brown. The senior will be the backbone of the UP defense. She tallied 1.5 shutouts last season en route to a 1.73 goals against average. In 2000, Brown captured the Big East Goalkeeper of the Year award. Big East record is determined by divisional games only. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the Big East tournament. Quarterfinal games will be held on campus sites on November 3 and 4, while the semifinals and final will be held at Rutgers Soccer Stadium in Piscataway, N.J. on Nov. 9 and 11. 2001 Preseason Poll
| Northeast | Big East | Overall | Regular Season | Pts. |
| Connecticut (8) | 5-0-0 | 17-7-2 | 1st | 86 |
| Boston College (5) | 4-1-0 | 14-7-0 | 2nd | 83 |
| Syracuse | 3-2-0 | 14-7-0 | 3rd | 63 |
| Miami (1) | 2-3-0 | 9-10-1 | 4th | 56 |
| St. JohnÆs | 1-4-0 | 12-9-0 | 5th | 36 |
| Virginia Tech | N/A | 9-10-0 | N/A | 34 |
| Providence | 0-5-0 | 7-11-1 | 6th | 27 |
| Mid-Atlantic | Big East | Overall | Regular Season | Pts. |
| *Notre Dame (13) | 6-0-0 | 23-1-1 | 1st | 91 |
| West Virginia (1) | 3-3-0 | 15-6-0 | tied 3rd | 77 |
| Rutgers | 3-2-1 | 9-9-2 | 2nd | 63 |
| Villanova | 2-4-0 | 11-8-0 | 6th | 48 |
| Georgetown | 2-3-1 | 8-9-2 | 5th | 45 |
| Seton Hall | 3-3-0 | 8-10-1 | tied 3rd | 41 |
| Pittsburgh | 1-5-0 | 6-12-1 | 7th | 20 |
ò First-place votes in parentheses.
Preseason Awards Offensive Player of the Year Katie Barnes, Sr., F, West Virginia Co-Defensive Players of the Year Casey Zimny, Sr., D, Connecticut Vanessa Pruzinsky, Jr., D, Notre Dame Goalkeeper of the Year Rachel Brown, Sr., GK, Pittsburgh
Preseason All-Big East Team *Katie Barnes, Sr., F, West Virginia Vonda Matthews, So., F, Miami Amy Warner, So., F, Notre Dame Meghan Moore, Sr., F/M, Boston College Mary-Beth Bowie Sr., F, Connecticut Sarah Rahko, So., M/F, Boston College Lisa Stoia, So., M, West Virginia Frauke Dittel, Sr., M/D, Seton Hall Casey Zimny, Sr., D, Connecticut Tracy Stalker, Sr., D, Syracuse Vanessa Pruzinsky, Jr., D, Notre Dame Rachel Brown, Sr., GK, Pittsburgh
