LSU Gold

Soccer Ranked in Top 15 to End Season

by Will Stafford (@WillStaffordLSU)
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Soccer Ranked in Top 15 to End Season

BATON ROUGE — In the wake of winning its third-straight SEC Western Division championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the LSU soccer team finished the 2009 season ranked among the Top 15 teams in the country in the final national rankings released this week.

The Tigers wrapped up the campaign with a 15-4-5 overall record and a school record 8-2-1 mark with 25 points in SEC play to finish in second place in the final conference regular season standings.

With their outstanding performance this fall, the Tigers finished the 2009 campaign ranked No. 14 in both the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index and Soccer Times Top 25 released this week. They also wrapped up the season ranked No. 16 in the final National Soccer Coaches Association Top 25.

LSU captured its third-straight SEC West title with a dominating 4-1 win over Arkansas during its regular season finale en route to a runner-up finish in the final SEC standings for the second-straight season. LSU then advanced to the SEC Tournament final for the first time in program history, where it dropped a tough 8-7 decision in penalty kicks to South Carolina after battling the Gamecocks to a 1-1 draw in regulation.

This also marks the second-straight season in which the Tigers earned a national ranking in the final polls after wrapping up the 2008 campaign ranked No. 14 in the final Soccer America Top 25.

Final NCAA Ratings Percentage Index
1. North Carolina
2. Stanford
3. UCLA
4. Portland
5. Notre Dame
6. Florida State
7. Boston College
8. Wake Forest
9. South Carolina
10. Virginia Tech
11. Central Florida
12. South Carolina
13. Maryland
14. LSU
15. Florida
16. Penn State
17. Washington State
18. Southern California
19. Oregon State
20. Georgia
21. Ohio State
22. Texas A&M
23. Marquette
24. West Virginia
25. Virginia

Final NSCAA Top 25
Team (Record) Last Week
1. North Carolina (23-3-1) 4
2. Stanford (25-1-0) 1
3. UCLA (21-3-1) 3
4. Notre Dame (21-4-1) 5
5. Portland (21-2-0) 2
6. Florida State (19-5-1) 6
7. Boston College (18-4-2) 7
8. Wake Forest (16-6-2) 14
9. South Carolina (19-4-2) 8
10. Santa Clara (14-7-2) 11
11. Maryland (14-6-2) 19
12. Virginia Tech (16-8-0) 17
13. Texas A&M (15-7-3) 22
14. LSU (15-4-5) 10
15. Florida (16-6-2) 9
16. Rutgers (14-4-4) 12
17. Central Florida (17-5-1) 13
18. Washington State (14-6-2) 18
19. Virginia (10-6-6) NR
20. BYU (18-4-2) 20
21. Oregon State (14-8-1) NR
22. Penn State (13-6-2) 16
23. Ohio State (14-4-2) 15
24. Southern California (12-6-3) 21
25. Dayton (16-1-6) 23

Final Soccer Times Top 25
Team (Record) Last Week
1. North Carolina (23-3-1) 4
2. Stanford (25-1-0) 1
3. UCLA (21-3-1) 3
4. Notre Dame (21-4-1) 6
5. Portland (21-2-0) 2
6. Florida State (19-5-1) 5
7. Boston College (18-4-2) 7
8. Wake Forest (16-6-2) T9
9. South Carolina (19-4-2) 8
10. Virginia Tech (16-8-0) 15
11. Maryland (14-6-2) 20
12. Santa Clara (14-7-2) 19
13. Texas A&M (15-7-3) 23
14. BYU (18-4-2) T11
15. Florida (16-6-2) T9
16. LSU (15-4-5) T11
17. Virginia (10-6-6) NR
18. Oregon State (14-8-1) NR
19. Washington State (14-6-2) 14
20. Central Florida (17-5-1) 16
21. Rutgers (14-4-4) 18
22. Penn State (13-6-2) 17
23. Wisconsin (10-6-6) NR
24. Ohio State (14-4-2) 13
25. Dayton (16-1-6) 24