NCAA runner-up UCLA has been tabbed as the favorite to win the Pacific-10 Conference women's soccer title in a preseason vote of the head coaches. The Bruins received eight of 10 first-place votes, with California (1) and Washington (1) also picking up first-place support. Just six points separate the second- through fifth-place teams, as Stanford finished fourth with 72 points, narrowly edging USC (71 pts.). UCLA placed third in the Pac-10 last year, compiling a 6-2-1 league mark before beginning its incredible NCAA Tournament run. The Bruins became the first Pac-10 team to reach the College Cup since Stanford in …

Tennessee Tech, which won the 2000 Ohio Valley Conference tournament title, is the favorite to capture the regular-season crown in 2001, according to a poll of the leagueÆs head soccer coaches. The Golden Eagles received three first-place votes and 22 total points in the balloting, edging out two-time defending regular-season champion Eastern Illinois, which earned two first-place votes and 21 total points. Murray State, which received the other first-place vote, and Southeast Missouri State were tied for third in the balloting with 16 points, followed by Morehead State and Tennessee-Martin. Tennessee Tech (12-8 overall, 4-1 in OVC) returns 11 letterwinners …

BYU was selected as the favorite to capture its third straight Mountain West Conference title in a vote by the league's coaches. The Cougars received five first-place votes and collected 36 points to capture the top spot in the poll. Utah was picked to place second with 31 points and one first place vote, followed by San Diego State with 26, UNLV (21), New Mexico (14), Air Force (11) and Wyoming (8). BYU won the 2000 regular-season crown with a perfect 6-0 league record and captured the conference tournament title with a 6-1 victory over Utah. The Cougars compiled a …

Finishing with 160 of 169 possible points, Miami (Ohio) was picked to win its first regular-season Mid-American Conference title by the league coaches in the 2001 preseason poll, receiving nine first-place votes. The Red Hawks, who return All-MAC first-team member Andrea Cunningham, finished tied for third in the 2000 regular-season with a mark of 7-4. After winning their first tournament championship, Miami advanced to the first round of the NCAA, before falling 4-3 in double overtime to the Michigan. Central Michigan finished second in the balloting with 142 points and one first-place vote. Tying for third during the 2000 MAC …

The Sun Belt coaches expect defending champion Florida International to repeat as league champions with Denver placing second. Third was North Texas followed by South Alabama, Middle Tennessee, Arkansas State, Arkansas-Little Rock, Western Kentucky and Louisiana-Lafayette. FIU received six first place votes and 71 points in the balloting, while Denver received one first place vote and had 69 points. The Lady Eagles pulled in two first place votes and had 65 points. FIU returns nine starters off last yearÆs 15-6 team that finished the regular season in a tie for first in the Sun Belt standings and then swept to …

Colgate is favored to take the Patriot League title. No surprise here: The Raiders have won the Patriot League regular-season women's soccer title four times in the last five years and seven times in the 11-year history of the Patriot League and also captured top honors in the post-season championship tournament nine times in 11 years, including a six-year run from 1994-to-1999. Colgate received half of the first-place votes from the 16 voters and finished with 82 points to take the top spot in the poll. Navy (78 points) picked up four first-place votes while Holy Cross (74) gained two. …

Newcomer American and defending champion Lehigh each picked up 82 points and shared 12 of the 16 first-place votes in the preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors. American joins the Patriot League this season after posting a 7-9-2 overall record last season, including a 5-2-1 mark for a third-place finish in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Eagles totaled 82 points in the voting and were the top pick by nine of the 16 coaches and SIDs. AU's Kris Bertsch (Clinton, N.J.) emerged in the final six games of the season as an offensive force, scoring at least …

Titans were selected to win the 2001 Big West title in a vote by the conferenceÆs coaches. CSF received three first-place votes and 32 points to claim the top spot. The Titans are coming off a 15-win season and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They return only four starters, but two were All-MPSF picks last season. UC Irvine was the second choice and received two first place votes. The Anteaters were 12-8-1 last season and have eight returning starters. UC Santa Barbara was picked to finish third and had one first place vote, followed by Cal Poly in fourth, …

Florida has been selected as the favorite to claim the 2001 title in the Southeastern Conference by the league's 12 head coaches. This marks the seventh consecutive year that the Gators have been tabbed by the coaches to win the title. Coming off their fifth straight SEC title in 2000, the Gators earned nine first-place votes, topping Tennessee who received three votes. The Gators were selected as tops in the East with 64 total points. Florida returns five All-SEC players in Keisha Bell, Jordan Kellgren, Danielle Murphy, Andi Sellers and Abby Wambach. Wambach led the conference in points and goals …

The 2000 national champion North Carolina Tar Heels were selected preseason favorites for the 2001 ACC season in a poll by the eight league coaches. The Tar Heels received 63 of a possible 64 points, and all but one of the first place votes. North Carolina, holder of 17 national championships and the last 12 ACC tournament championships, returns numerous key players from last year's team, including senior Jena Kluegel, who placed second in the nation with 0.96 assists per game last season. Despite losing Meredith Florance, the Tar Heels will return seven starters, including All-America's Kluegel and Danielle Borgman. …

SMU has been selected to defend its Western Athletic Conference title, according to the preseason WAC coachesÆ poll. The Mustangs received eight first-place votes and tallied 64 total points, while San Jose State, the reigning WAC Tournament titleholder, and Tulsa, last yearÆs regular-season and tournament runner-up, each tallied 51 points. All nine head womenÆs soccer coaches participated in the poll but were not permitted to vote for their own team. SMU finished last season with a 13-5-1 record, 6-0-1 in the WAC, to earn the regular-season conference title. Despite being ranked in the top 25 throughout the season, SMU was …

Cal Poly is the favorite to be crowned Big West womenÆs soccer champion in 2001, according to a vote of the conferenceÆs 10 head coaches. The Mustangs received 8.5 first-place votes and totaled 98.5 points. The two-time defending champions are coming off their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and are returning seven starters from last yearÆs winning team. In all, 17 Mustangs return who lettered in 2000. UC Irvine collected the remaining 1.5 first-place votes and was second with 85.5 points. Long Beach State rounded off the top three receiving 66 points. UC Santa Barbara was selected to …

Executive Editor Mike Woitalla predicts: Tampa Bay 1 Dallas 2 Chicago 2 Columbus 1 Previews (All times ET) Wednesday, August 29, (7:00 p.m.) Dallas Burn at Tampa Bay Mutiny (KSTR) Did you know? Dallas has lost five straight on the road by a combined score of 17-6. ... Dallas travels to Central Florida fighting for a playoff spot while the MutinyÆs playoff hopes were officially dashed last weekend. ... Dallas can clinch the eighth and final playoff spot with a win, a loss by the Revolution, and any loss of points by both Colorado and D.C. United. ... Without a …

Chicago tightens its grip on the Central Division title with a 2-1 win over Columbus on comeback goals by Eric Wynalda and Ante Razov. ... Wynalda's 10th goal of the season equals the Chicago striker's best career total from 1996 with the San Jose Clash. ... Dallas playoff hopes get a boost from Jorge RodriguezÆs strike -- the golden goal in a 3-2 win in Tampa. Aug. 29 in Chicago CHICAGO 2, COLUMBUS 1 Scoring Summary: CLB--Warzycha 7 CHI--Wynalda (Gutierrez, Bocanegra) 50 CHI--Razov (unassisted) 57 CHICAGO -- Zach Thornton, C.J. Brown, Carlos Bocanegra, Evan Whitfield (Eric Wynalda 46, Jim Curtin …

Fairleigh Dickinson, coming off a tour of England, is favored to again take the Northeast title. The Knights return NEC Rookie of the Year Dirceu Hurtado (43 points) in a bid to become the first NEC team to repeat since St. Francis (N.Y.) (1995-96). Also back for Seth Roland's team are all-NEC picks Danny Lozano, Johnny David and Brian Romero. No. 2 pick UMBC got two first-place votes despite the loss of two-time NEC Player of the Year Giuliano Celenza. Rounding out the voting are 3. St. Francis (N.Y.), 4. Quinnipiac, 5. Mt. St. Mary's, 6. Central Connecticut State, 7. …