August 13, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas- The 2008 Texas A&M soccer team ranked 15th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll, it was announced Tuesday.
The Aggies ended the 2007 season at No. 13 after claiming their fourth straight Big 12 regular season title and posting an 18-4-2 record. The combination of 12 returning letterwinners and a top-10 recruiting class positioned them amid the nation’s best this season.
Defending national champion USC received the top spot in the poll followed by UCLA, North Carolina, Florida State and Notre Dame. Portland, Virginia, Texas, Penn State and Stanford round out the top 10.
“It’s always nice to be thought of amongst the top teams in the country,” said A&M head coach G Guerrieri. “We have very high goals and standards for what we want to achieve and this is a good starting point for us.”
The Aggies take on five top-25 teams in 2008, the first of which is No. 3 North Carolina at the Aggie Soccer Stadium on Aug. 29. A&M also faces No. 17 California and No. 23 Oklahoma State at home and goes on the road to play No. 8 Texas and No. 21 Wake Forest.
A&M opens the regular season at the Aggie Soccer Stadium on Friday, Aug 22, against Rhode Island. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the ticket office at 1-888-99-AGGIE or by logging on to http://www.12thmanfoundation.com/tickets/ticketbox.asp.