Aug. 3, 2015

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The National Soccer Coaches Association of American released its national preseason rankings for Division I men’s and women’s teams on Monday, with the University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team netting a No. 9 preseason position with 491 points.

The Fighting Irish finished the 2014 season with a 14-6-2 record and a No. 11 national NSCAA ranking. They posted a 7-2-1 record in the vaunted Atlantic Coast Conference and went on to win in the first two rounds of the NCAA Championship before being ousted by No. 5 Texas A&M in a 2-1 heartbreaker in the third round.

Notre Dame will kick off its 2015 slate with exhibition matches against Iowa State (August 11) and Illinois (August 16) before hosting Valparaiso in the regular season opener at 7:30 p.m. EDT on August 21 at Alumni Stadium.

Defending national champion Florida State topped the preseason chart with 782 points and 25 of 32 first-place votes. National runner-up Virginia came in at No. 2 (754 points), while Stanford (728), UCLA (718) and Texas A&M (628) rounded out the top five.

For the latest Irish women’s soccer coverage, be sure log on to UND.com, follow @NDSoccer on Twitter and like Notre Dame Women’s Soccer on Facebook.

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