August 11, 2006
The back-to-back Big 12 champion Texas A&M soccer team has been tabbed with a No. 14 national rank in the Soccer Buzz preseason poll, editors of the magazine announced Friday. has been tabbed with a No. 14 national rank in the Soccer Buzz preseason poll, editors of the magazine announced Friday.
During the course of the 2006 season, the Aggies will face five of the 30 teams listed in the poll: No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Santa Clara, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 8 Penn State and No. 15 Illinois.
The ?â„¢06 squad returns nine starters and a total of 18 letterwinners from last year?â„¢s team that brought home the 2005 Big 12 regular season and tournament championship and lifted A&M to it?â„¢s 11th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and seventh admission into the NCAA ?Sweet Sixteen.?
The 2006 roster holds the experience of eight seniors, nine juniors, and three sophomores. In addition to the returnees, the Aggies will profit from the skillfulness of five freshmen.
In the Central Region rankings, the Aggies are listed second behind Tennessee. The No. 2 ranking marks 116 consecutive weeks that A&M has held a spot in the Soccer Buzz regional poll.
The Aggies will kick off the preseason portion of their schedule at home on Sunday, Aug. 13 against the Rice Owls. The match is scheduled to begin at 7pm.
Soccer Buzz Top 30
Preseason 2006
1 UCLA
2 Santa Clara
3 Notre Dame
4 Florida State
5 Portland
6 North Carolina
7 Virginia
8 Penn State
9 Boston College
10 Tennessee
11 Florida
12 Duke
13 Yale
14 Texas A&M
15 Illinois
16 Marquette
17 USC
18 Georgia
19 Stanford
20 Pepperdine
21 West Virginia
22 Dartmouth
23 BYU
24 Mississippi
25 Gonzaga
26 Wake Forest
27 Saint Louis
28 Long Beach St
29 Vanderbilt
30 California
Receiving votes (alpha order): Arizona (11-8-3), Connecticut (15-5-2), Nebraska (14-8-1), SMU (15-5-2), Purdue (11-7-2), Utah (14-7-1), VCU (13-5-5)