COLORADO SPRINGS -- In a vote by the Mountain West Conference coaches, BYU received four of eight first-place votes and was selected to win the 2006 MWC women's soccer regular-season championship in the preseason poll released today by the conference office.
"The conference is going to be stronger than ever this year, but winning the MWC title is certainly one of our goals," said head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "We will definitely have to be at our best, but we look forward to the challenge."
The Cougars collected a total of 46 points to capture the top spot in the poll. Utah, which won the last year's MWC regular-season title, received three first-place votes and took second place in the poll with 44 points. San Diego State was picked to finish third with 35 points, while also tallying one first-place vote. Last year's tournament champion, UNLV, was picked fourth (32 points), while New Mexico was fifth (25 points), TCU was sixth (19 points), Wyoming was seventh (16 points), and Air Force was eighth (7 points).
The Cougars finished second in the regular season last year and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Utah and UNLV also both represented the MWC at the NCAA Tournament in 2005, tying the most number of MWC teams to play in the postseason. BYU, which finished with a 15-2-4 record last season, returns all-MWC first-team selection Katie Larkin and second-team selection Bobbi Tillotson.
Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll
Pl. Team (first-place votes) Points
1. BYU (4) 46
2. Utah (3) 44
3. San Diego State (1) 35
4. UNLV 32
5. New Mexico 25
7. Wyoming 16
8. Air Force 7