Long Beach State University Athletics
LBSU selected 18th in NSCAA preseason national poll
8/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 7, 2012
LONG BEACH - The Long Beach State women's soccer team earned the preseason ranking of No. 18 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America that was announced on Tuesday by the NSCAA
LBSU is coming off from its best season in program history as the 49ers finished with an overall record of 18-6-1, marking the program's sixth 10-win campaign in the last seven years. The 18 wins also eclipsed the previous single-season record of 16, which the 2006, 2008 and 2010 squads had established. The 49ers defended their Big West Conference Tournament title to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season (third in four years), and recorded the program's first postseason victory at No. 7 Pepperdine in the first of three victories that saw LBSU advance to the NCAA Elite Eight.
The 49ers finished the 2011 campaign ranked 14th in the final NSCAA national poll, marking the first time in school history LBSU has been ranked at the end of the season.
Last year's national champion Stanford took the top spot, while the 49ers' Elite Eight opponent and national runner-up Duke was selected No. 2. Wake Forest, Florida State, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Virginia, North Carolina, Penn State and Pepperdine rounded out the top 10. One of the opponents LBSU will be facing this year, Texas A&M (Sept. 7), came in tied at No. 14 with Memphis.
The 49ers were the only team from the Big West picked in the top 25 poll, while the Pac-12 (Stanford, UCLA) and West Coast Conference (Pepperdine, Santa Clara) had two teams each.
LBSU hosts future Big West member San Diego State this Friday evening at 7 p.m. at George Allen Field in a friendly scrimmage before kicking off the 2012 season at home next Friday, Aug. 17 (7 p.m.) versus Arizona.
2012 NSCAA Preseason Poll
1. Stanford
2. Duke
3. Wake Forest
4. Florida State
5. Oklahoma State
6. UCLA
7. Virginia
8. North Carolina
9. Penn State
10. Pepperdine
11. Boston College
12. Central Florida
13. Maryland
14. Memphis
Texas A&M
16. Marquette
17. Santa Clara
18. LONG BEACH STATE
19. Illinois
20. West Virginia
21. Florida
22. Virginia Tech
23. Boston University
24. South Carolina
25. Auburn
