BATON ROUGE — For the first time in program history, the LSU soccer team will enter the season ranked among the best teams in its region as it received a No. 11 ranking in the preseason Soccer Buzz Magazine Central Region Top 15 poll released this week.
This marks just the second time in the history of the poll that the Tigers have received a regional ranking by Soccer Buzz as it also cracked the publication’s Top 15 on Oct. 7, 2002.
The Tigers are scheduled to face four teams that also find themselves ranked among the elite teams in the region by Soccer Buzz Magazine entering the season, including No. 2 Texas, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 9 Vanderbilt and No. 15 Ole Miss.
LSU has also cracked the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Central Region Top 10 on two occasions in its history with its most recent appearance coming on Oct. 3 of last year following its first ever four-game unbeaten streak in SEC play. The NSCAA does not release a regional poll for the preseason.
The Tigers kick off the 2007 season at home as they play host to the LSU Classic with matches scheduled against Southern Miss on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. and Louisiana Tech on Sept. 2 at 1:30 p.m. The match against Louisiana Tech is scheduled for a live TV broadcast by Cox Sports Television.
Soccer Buzz Magazine Central Region Top 15 (69 teams)
1. Texas A&M (17-6-1)
2. Texas (18-4-3)
3. Colorado (14-6-4)
4. Tennessee (12-7-4)
5. Kansas (11-7-1)
6. Oklahoma State (17-3-3)
7. Denver (19-3-1)
8. SMU (17-5-1)
9. Vanderbilt (10-4-7)
10. Colorado College (15-5-1)
11. LSU (9-8-3)
12. St. Louis (16-4-2)
13. Missouri (10-9-0)
14. Nebraska (10-7-2)
15. Ole Miss (8-7-5)
* – All records are from 2006 season