Senior captain John Stephens and the Fighting Irish will battle three teams ranked in the top-25 of the 2005 NSCAA/adidas preseason poll within their first four games.

Notre Dame Ranked 16th In NSCAA/adidas Preseason Poll

Aug. 16, 2005

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team opens the 2005 season ranked 16th in the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America)/adidas preseason poll that was released on Tuesday, Aug. 16. Six of Notre Dame’s 2005 regular-season opponents joined them in the top-25. That list does not include the eighth-ranked New Mexico Lobos, who will square off against the Irish in exhibition play on Monday, Aug. 22 at Alumni Field. Indiana, the two-time defending NCAA champion, tops the list at No. 1 and the Hoosiers will travel north to face the Irish on Oct. 26.

Three of Notre Dame’s first four games feature opponents ranked in the poll. The Fighting Irish open the season versus No. 7 SMU at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic on Friday, Sept. 2. The slate does not get any easier as a match-up versus No. 10 Wake Forest awaits Notre Dame during day two of the tournament on Sunday, Sept. 4. Notre Dame will square off against the 25th-ranked Saint Louis Billikens at the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament on Sunday, Sept. 11 at Alumni Field.

Two fellow BIG EAST teams join the Irish in the top-25 as St. John’s is ranked fifth and Connecticut is 19th. Notre Dame opens conference play with a trip to St. John’s on Friday, Sept. 16. That match will appear on CSTV. The Fighting Irish welcome in Connecticut, the defending BIG EAST tournament champions, on Saturday, Oct. 8.

Notre Dame is one of just five schools to have both its men’s and women’s teams ranked in the top-16 of the NSCAA/adidas preseason polls. The Fighting Irish women debuted at No.1 as they begin their defense of the 2004 national title. Duke (men-3rd, women-12th), Virginia (men-6th, women-4th), UCLA (men-9th, women-3rd) and Boston College (men-15th, women-16th) are the other squads that share the distinction with Notre Dame.

The Irish opened the 2004 season ranked No. 9 and would climb as high as fourth, which occurred in the Nov. 2 poll. The Irish captured the program’s first regular-season BIG EAST title one year ago and were seeded fifth in the NCAA tournament. Notre Dame ended the 2004 campaign with a 13-3-3 mark (8-1-1 in BIG EAST play) and ranked 17th in the final NSCAA/adidas rankings following a loss to Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Notre Dame debuted at No. 19 in the College Soccer News 2005 preseason poll.

To stay up to date on the 2005 Notre Dame men’s soccer season along with all of the Fighting Irish varsity sports, please log on to und.com or call the official Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.

2005 NSCAA/adidas Preseason National RankingsAug. 16, 2005
1. INDIANA2. Maryland3. Duke4. UC Santa Barbara5. ST. JOHN'S6. Virginia7. SMU8. New Mexico9. UCLA10. WAKE FOREST11. Virginia Commonwealth12. Creighton13. North Carolina-Greensboro14. Tulsa15. Boston College16. NOTRE DAME17. North Carolina18. Ohio State19. CONNECTICUT20. California21. Santa Clara22. Old Dominion23. Penn State24. Northwestern25. SAINT LOUIS
BOLD CAPS indicate 2005 Notre Dame opponent

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