Aug. 10, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The women's soccer coaches from the Mountain West Conference have predicted San Diego State to finish third in the league in 2006. The third-place preseason ranking is the Aztecs' second-highest in the conference's eight-year history.
SDSU, which returns nine starters including all-MWC second-team selection sophomore Erika Sutton, picked up one first-place vote for a total of 35 points. Brigham Young was selected to win the MWC regular season championship with 46 points, garnering four first-place votes in the process.
The Cougars were followed by Utah (44), the Aztecs (35), UNLV (32), New Mexico (25) and TCU (19). Wyoming and Air Force rounded out the voting with 16 and seven points, respectively.
SDSU welcomes 17 letterwinners from a 2005 squad that finished 11-9-2 overall and 2-3-2 in MWC play, and brings in the 30th ranked recruiting class according to Soccer Buzz. The recruiting class is also tops in the MWC, according to the publication.
The Aztecs open the season at the Purdue Tournament with a match against Butler on Aug. 25 at 5:30 p.m. CT.
2006 MWC Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
1. Brigham Young (4) - 46
2. Utah (3) - 44
3. San Diego State (1) - 35
4. UNLV - 32
5. New Mexico - 25
6. TCU - 19
7. Wyoming - 16
8. Air Force - 7