AUGUSTA, Ga. | The Peach Belt Conference preseason coaches poll for women's soccer has been released.
 
Georgia College & State University has been picked to finish fourth in the league. The Bobcats finished fourth in the conference last season.
 
Columbus State University, which won the PBC Tournament, was the top pick in the poll as they collected three first-place votes and 73 points, while the University of North Georgia, which won the regular season crown, collected six first-place votes and was second with 71 points. Lander University is in third place with 66 points and was followed by GCSU (57), which received the other first-place vote, Flagler College (53), University of South Carolina-Beaufort (39), University of South Carolina-Aiken (36), Georgia Southwestern State University (24), Clayton State University (18) and Middle Georgia State University (13). 
  
Kaisa Fagerstrom, a 5-foot-8 sophomore defender from Espoo, Finland, was also named to the preseason All-PBC team.

Fagerstrom became the first-ever Bobcat to be selected as the league's 2025 Freshman of the Year in the 25-year history of women's soccer history and only the second GCSU women's soccer player to earn one of the Peach Belt's major awards.

Fagerstrom, who played 1,463 minutes in 17 starts a year ago, was third for the Bobcats with three goals and third in scoring with seven points. Fagerstrom anchored the backfield for GCSU, which registered seven shutouts in 2025. The Bobcats allowed the third-fewest number of goals in the Peach Belt with 16 and allowed just 0.89 goals per match, also third. 

GCSU kicks off its 2026 season Thursday (Aug. 27) when they entertain North Greenville University in a 7 p.m. match at the Bobcat Soccer Field.

About GCSU Athletics 
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for five consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 13 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won six consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and six-time winners of the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in postseason competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics.