RICHARDSON, Texas –– University of Texas at Tyler has been picked to make it three straight American Southwest Conference men’s soccer season championships after a vote of the league’s 14 head coaches and sports information directors, the ASC office released on Tuesday.
Texas-Tyler, which went 14-2-1 overall and 11-1-1 in ASC play last season, pulled in 385 points and 23 of a possible 28 first-place votes in the annual preseason poll. Head Coach Kenny Jones’ Patriots, who become eligible for postseason play after serving as an NCAA provisional member the past four seasons, allowed a league low 0.88 goals per game in 2006 and pitched nine shutouts.
Texas-Tyler begins the season is ranked No. 25 in the nation by D3kicks.com.
Schreiner University, the host of the 2006 ASC Championship Tournament, was picked to finish second with 341 points. The Mountaineers went 10-3-0 in league play last season. Mississippi College landed in the third spot by totaling 322 votes with three first-place picks.
Defending ASC champion Hardin-Simmons University (two first-place votes) and University of the Ozarks shared the fourth spot with 293 points. University of Texas at Dallas (277 points) rounded out the top six spots, which would be the cutoff point for berths in the ASC Championship Tournament.
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (218 points) was picked to finish seventh, preceding LeTourneau University (183), East Texas Baptist University (157), Texas Lutheran University (151) and Howard Payne University (108). Concordia University Texas and McMurry University tied for twelfth with 73 points, followed by Louisiana College (66).
American Southwest Conference men’s soccer teams begin the 2007 season as early as Aug. 31 and the ASC Championship Tournament is slated for November 2-4 at the site of the conference champion with an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III National Championship on the line.
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE
2007 PRESEASON MEN’S SOCCER HEAD COACHES/SIDs POLL
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Team (1st place votes)
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Pts.
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2006 Records
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1.
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Texas-Tyler (23)
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385
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14-2-1, 11-1-1 ASC
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2.
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Schreiner
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341
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12-5-1, 10-3-0 ASC
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3.
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Mississippi College (3)
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322
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14-5-3, 8-4-1 ASC
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T4.
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Hardin-Simmons (2)
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293
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15-6-0, 9-3-1 ASC
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T4.
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Ozarks
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293
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14-6-1, 10-3-0 ASC
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6.
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Texas-Dallas
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277
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12-6-1, 8-5-0 ASC
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7.
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Mary Hardin-Baylor
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218
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10-9-1, 7-5-1 ASC
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8.
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LeTourneau
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183
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12-5-2, 7-5-1 ASC
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9.
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East Texas Baptist
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157
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7-12-0, 4-9-0 ASC
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10.
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Texas Lutheran
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151
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7-11-1, 5-8-0 ASC
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|
11.
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Howard Payne
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108
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3-11-4, 3-9-1 ASC
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T12.
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Concordia Texas
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73
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4-13-0, 2-11-0 ASC
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T12.
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McMurry
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73
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3-13-1, 3-9-1 ASC
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14.
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Louisiana College
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66
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2-16-1, 0-12-1 ASC
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