Soccer America Women's Preseason Top 25
- by Soccer America , Aug 18, 2016
The Cardinal went 10-0-1 to win its 10th Pac-12 championship but it fell to Duke on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals at home.
"It's been fuel since the day after that game," said Cardinal captain Maddie Bauer. "We understand that happened, but we understand we're that much better this year and to make sure that doesn't happen again."
Stanford returnees include All-America midfielder Andi Sullivan and four-year starter Jane Campbell, considered one of the top U.S. goalkeeping prospects.
Duke, which went on to beat 2015 national champion Florida State in the semifinals, returns its top seven scorers and 10 starters overall, including Canadian Olympian Rebecca Quinn.
Quinn's Canadian teammates Ashley Lawrence and Kadeisha Buchanan will lead West Virginia, which opens at defending champion Penn State on Friday.
Florida State, which opens at No. 9 Texas A&M, will be led by Irishwoman Megan Connolly, the first Seminole freshman to be named an NSCAA first-team All-American.
Week 1: Worth Watching
#9 Texas A&M vs. #3 Florida State
#5 Penn State vs. #4 West Virginia
#14 Auburn vs. #10 Clemson
Soccer America Women's Preseason Top 25:
TEAM (2015 RECORD)
1. Stanford (19-2-2)
2. Duke (14-6-5)
3. Florida State (18-3-4)
4. West Virginia (19-3-1)
5. Penn State (22-3-2)
6. Florida (19-4-1)
7. Virginia (19-1-3)
8. USC (14-6-2)
9. Texas A&M (17-7-2)
10. Clemson (14-4-2)
11. Connecticut (19-4-0)
12. North Carolina (15-5-1)
13. Rutgers (19-4-4)
14. Auburn (16-6-1)
15. California (13-6-3)
16. BYU (16-3-2)
17. UCLA (8-10-1)
18. Wisconsin (11-6-3)
19. Notre Dame (14-5-1)
20. Virginia Tech (15-4-2)
21. Texas Tech (15-4-5)
22. Ohio State (13-7-3)
23. South Carolina (12-5-3)
24. Arizona (14-6-2)
25. Boston College (11-7-2)
Note: The Soccer America Top 25 will appear each Tuesday during the regular season.
