Aug. 25, 2004

The Notre Dame women’s soccer team will enter Friday’s season opener versus Baylor (7:30 p.m., at Alumni Field) ranked in the top three of all four national polls, checking in at the No. 2 spot according to the Soccer Buzz internat site while three other national organizations – the National Soccer Coaches Association, Soccer America magazine and the Soccer Times coaches poll – each have the Irish third in their respective preseason polls. Defending national champion North Carolina is top-ranked in all four polls while Santa Clara is No. 2 in three of the polls and third according to Soccer Buzz. Notre Dame and Santa Clara will meet in a key early-season showdown on Sept. 5, at Alumni Field in the Adidas Classic. This marks the seventh time in the last 11 season that the Irish have been ranked second (’95-’98, ’00) or third (’94, ’04) in the NSCAA preseason poll. All four polls are listed below. Eight teams on Notre Dame’s 2004 schedule are ranked in at least one of the polls: Santa Clara, UConn (7th ST, 8th NSCAA, 9th SB, 13th SA), Stanford (14th SA, 26th-most votes ST), Arizona State (14th SB, 15th ST, 16th NSCAA, 20th SA), Michigan (15th SB, 19th ST, 20th NSCAA), West Virginia (14th ST, 15th NSCAA, 20th SB, 24th SA), Boston College (19th NSCAA, 21st SA, 30th SB and ST) and Villanova (22nd NSCAA, 25th SB, 28th ST). Southern Methodist – which will join SCU and Stanford at the Notre Dame Adidas Classic (Sept 3 and 5) – is 21st in the Soccer Buzz poll while also receiving votes in the NSCAA and Soccer Times coaches poll (the Mustangs will face the Broncos and Cardinal but will not play the Irish at that elite tournament). NSCAA/Adidas NCAA Division I Women – Preseason Rankings (Aug. 24, 2004 2003 Final Record and Ranking Indicated Rank School … W-L-T (Final ’03 Poll) 1. North Carolina … 27-0-0 (1) 2. Santa Clara … 14-4-6 (5) 3. Notre Dame … 20-3-19 (9) 4. Penn State … 19-4-2 (6) 5. Texas A&M … 13-6-3 (11) 6. Portland … 18-3-2 (7) 7. Florida State … 17-8-1 (4) 8. Connecticut … 15-6-3 (2) 9. UCLA … 20-2-3 (3) 10. Virginia … 12-5-4 (17) 11. Tennessee … 17-5-2 (12) 12. Florida … 19-4-2 (8) 13. Texas … 12-9-0 (NR) 14. Illinois … 16-4-2 (18) 15. West Virginia … 17-4-2 (10) 16. Arizona State … 13-5-3 (22) 17. Kansas … 18-6-1 (13) 18. Duke … 14-7-1 (19) 19. Boston College … 15-3-3 (25) 20. Michigan … 11-8-6 (16) 21. Pepperdine … 14-6-1 (20) 22. Villanova … 15-5-5 (NR) 23. Colorado … 15-4-1 (21) 24. Utah … 16-2-2 (24) 25. Ohio State … 13-5-3 (RV) Also receiving votes: Auburn, Harvard, SMU, Clemson, Princeton, Mississippi, Cal Poly SOCCER AMERICA COLLEGE WOMEN’S 2004 PRESEASON TOP 25 (with conference and 2003 record)

1. North Carolina … Atlantic Coast … 27-0-0

2. Santa Clara … West Coast … 14-4-6

3. Notre Dame … Big East … 20-3-1

4. Texas … Big 12 … 12-9-0

5. Florida State … Atlantic Coast … 17-8-1

6. Portland … West Coast … 18-3-2

7. Virginia … Atlantic Coast … 12-5-4

8. Tennessee … Southeastern … 17-5-2

9. Penn State … Big Ten … 19-3-3

10. UCLA … Pacific-10 … 20-2-3

11. Texas A&M … Big 12 … 13-6-3

12. Clemson … Atlantic Coast … 11-7-2

13. Connecticut … Big East … 15-6-3

14. Stanford … Pacific-10 … 10-9-2

15. Utah … Mountain West … 16-2-2

16. Florida … Southeastern … 19-4-2

17. Colorado … Big 12 … 15-4-1

18. Ohio State … Big Ten … 13-5-3

19. Kansas … Big 12 … 18-6-1

20. Arizona State … Pacific-10 … 13-5-3

21. Boston College … Big East … 15-3-3

22. Pepperdine … West Coast … 14-6-1

23. Auburn … Southeastern … 14-4-3

24. West Virginia … Big East … 17-4-2

25. Nebraska … Big 12 … 13-8-1

Soccer Buzz 2004 Preseason Women’s Soccer Poll (’03 record)

1. North Carolina (27-0)

2. Notre Dame (20-3-1)

3. Santa Clara (14-4-6)

4. Texas A&M (13-6-3)

5. Florida State (17-8-1)

6. Florida (19-4-2)

7. Portland (18-3-2)

8. Texas (12-9)

9. Connecticut (15-6-3)

10. Ohio State (13-5-3)

11. Kansas (18-6-1)

12. Penn State (19-3-3)

13. Virginia (12-5-4)

14. Arizona State (13-5-3)

15. Michigan (11-8-6)

16. UCLA (20-2-3)

17. Colorado (15-4-1)

18. Utah (16-2-2)

19. Illinois (16-4-2)

20. West Virginia (17-4-2)

21. SMU (17-3-2)

22. Cal Poly (18-2-2)

23. Tennessee (17-5-2)

24. Duke (14-7-1)

25. Villanova (15-5-5)

26. Nebraska (13-8-1)

27. Princeton (11-3-3)

28. Auburn (14-4-3)

29. Pepperdine (14-6-1)

30. Boston College (15-3-3)

Also receiving votes (alphabetical order): Central Florida (16-5-1), Clemson (11-7-2), Stanford (10-9-2). Soccer Times 2004 Preseason (First-place votes in parentheses) Rank School (1st-place votes) … Record … Pts … Final 2003 Poll 1. North Carolina (16) … 27-0-0 … 400 … 1 2. Santa Clara … 14-4-6 … 356 … 4 3. Notre Dame … 20-3-1 … 351 … 10 4. Portland … 18-3-2 … 336 … 7 5. Penn State … 19-4-2 … 317 … 6 6. Florida State … 17-8-1 … 299 … 5 7. Connecticut … 15-6-3 … 293 … 3 8. UCLA … 20-2-3 … 275 … 2 9. Virginia … 12-5-4 … 265 … 16 10. Texas A&M … 13-6-3 … 252 … 11 11. Florida … 19-4-2 … 245 … 8 12. Tennessee … 17-5-2 … 203 … 13 13. Texas … 12-9-0 … 188 … nr 14. West Virginia … 17-4-2 … 161 … 9 15. (tie) Duke … 14-7-1 … 133 … 17 15. (tie) Arizona State … 13-5-3 … 133 … 19 17. Colorado … 15-4-1 … 117 … 20 18. Kansas … 18-6-1 … 108 … 12 19. Michigan … 11-8-6 … 100 … 18 20. Utah … 16-2-2 … 91 … 22 21. Clemson … 11-7-2 … 79 … nr 22. Illinois … 16-4-2 … 72 … 21 23. (tie) Pepperdine … 14-6-1 … 60 … 24 23. (tie) Ohio State … 13-5-3 … 60 … nr 25. Nebraska … 13-8-1 … 51 … 25 Others receiving votes: Stanford 43, Brigham Young 41, Villanova 39, Washington 28, Boston College 26, Southern California 23, Auburn 19, Southern Methodist 16, Oklahoma State 7, Purdue 5, California 4, Central Connecticut 1, Loyola Marymount 1, Mississippi 1.