Women's Soccer: WVU Tabbed No. 21 by Soccer Buzz
August 14, 2006 10:18 AM | General
August 14, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s soccer team has been rated No. 21 in Soccer Buzz’s preseason poll for the 2006 season.
The Mountaineers are coming off their sixth consecutive NCAA Championship berth and finished 2005 ranked 19th in the final NSCAA/adidas poll and 22nd in the final Soccer America poll.
UCLA took the top spot followed by powerhouses Santa Clara, Notre Dame, Florida State and Portland in the top five. 2006 non-conference opponents Virginia and Penn State were ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, while BIG EAST foe Marquette was slotted at No. 16. WVU was selected third in the 47-team Mid-Atlantic region behind the Cavaliers and Nittany Lions.
In the BIG EAST preseason poll, WVU received three first-place votes and was selected to finish second behind UConn, who tallied 12 first place votes, in the BIG EAST’s American Division. WVU finished third in the American division last year with a 7-2-1 conference record and an overall record of 12-6-3.
WVU is followed by Marquette, Syracuse, St. John’s, USF, Pittsburgh and Providence, rounding out the rest of the American Division, while Notre Dame was selected to repeat as regular season champion of the National Division.
Junior forward/midfielder Ashley Banks and sophomore midfielder Amanda Cicchini were both selected to the 2006 preseason all-BIG EAST team. Both players were on the all-conference second team last season.
The votes were cast by the league’s head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own team or players.
The Mountaineers open the season on the road at the James Madison Invitational on Aug. 25-27 with Richmond and JMU, before welcoming Western Michigan to Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Friday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m.
