BATON ROUGE ? The LSU soccer team was selected to finish in third place in the Southeastern Conference Western Division by the league’s 12 head coaches it was announced by the SEC office Thursday.
The Tigers return seven starters and 12 letterwinners to a team that finished 8-10-2 overall and in third place in the SEC West in 2005. They also welcome the services of the nation’s seventh-ranked recruiting class as 10 of the team’s 12 freshmen were ranked among the top 200 high school seniors by Soccer Buzz Magazine with seven being ranked among the top 100.
Second-year head coach Brian Lee is excited about the upcoming season and believes his team is poised to build upon its success from a year ago by competing for the division and overall SEC championship in 2006.
“Being picked to finish third in the division is right from a prognostication standpoint, but our goals and aspirations for this season are a lot higher than that,” Lee said. “We’re young, but we have the talent on this team to compete for SEC championships year in and year out. We’re certainly looking forward to an exciting season in 2006.”
Tennessee was selected as the favorite to repeat as SEC champions in 2006 by receiving a total of eight first-place votes. The Lady Volunteers return eight starters from a squad that made a clean sweep by winning the SEC East, SEC Tournament and overall SEC championships a year ago. Ole Miss was picked to repeat as champion of the SEC West with Auburn a close second.
“The depth of the SEC is far greater than what it was just a few years ago, and there are several teams that have an opportunity to compete for a conference championship this year,” Lee said. “Our conference has as many as five teams ranked in the top 25, and it’s shaping up to be one of the more competitive seasons in the SEC in recent memory.”
The Tigers open the season Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. on the road against the SMU Mustangs in Dallas, while the SEC slate kicks off at home against Vanderbilt on Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.
SEC PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
SEC Champion: Tennessee (8), Florida (3), Georgia (1)
EASTERN DIVISION
Team (First-Place Votes) Total Points
Tennessee (8) 57
Florida (3) 52
Georgia (1) 42
Vanderbilt 32
Kentucky 20
South Carolina 13
WESTERN DIVISION
Ole Miss (8) 57
Auburn (4) 50
LSU 43
Alabama 31
Arkansas 24
Mississippi State 11