Kansas Soccer Tabbed Fifth in Big 12 Poll
Aug. 13, 2007
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
The University of Kansas soccer team was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 by the league’s coaches in the annual preseason poll, released by the conference office Monday. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Texas A&M was picked to finish first, garnering six first place votes and 95 total points. The Aggies narrowly edged out in-state rival <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Texas (two first-place votes, 91 total points) for the honor. Colorado was chosen to finish third with 81 total points. OklahomaState (fourth) was the only other school to earn a first-place vote.
Kansas was picked fifth with 65 total points, followed by Nebraska (57), Oklahoma (43), Missouri (41), Baylor (23), Texas Tech (21) and IowaState (14).
“Once again, the Big 12 is going to be a tough conference,” Kansas head coach Mark Francis said. “In the top half of the league, just about anybody can beat anybody else on a given day. But this gives us some motivation, to go out and prove that we belong a little higher.”
This marks the third-straight season that the Jayhawks have been picked to finish fourth or lower. However, the team has not placed any worse than fourth in the league since 2002.
Oklahoma State’s Yolanda Odenyo and Colorado’s Nikki Marshall were two of 11 players named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team. Odenyo was last year’s Big 12 Player of the Year, while Marshall was tabbed the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in 2006.
Kansas will play a pair of intrasquad matches during the preseason before opening the regular season at the University of Hawaii on Aug. 31.
2007 Big 12 Preseason Poll
Place School Total Points1. Texas A&M (6) 952. Texas (2) 913. Colorado (2) 814. Oklahoma State (1) 745. Kansas 656. Nebraska 577. Oklahoma 438. Missouri 419. Baylor 2310. Texas Tech 2111. Iowa State 14
