Stephen F. Austin Picked as Early Favorites in 2015 Southland Soccer
FRISCO, Texas – Stephen F. Austin has been picked to win the 2015 Southland Conference soccer regular-season championship in polls conducted by the league’s coaches and sports information directors, the conference office announced Wednesday.
The Ladyjacks are coming off a perfect 11-0-0 mark in Southland Conference play and finished 16-3-1 overall, claiming their fourth consecutive regular season title. Stephen F. Austin returns six starters to a team that won its ninth overall league crown, the most by any program in Southland history. SFA received nine first-place votes from the SIDs and eight first-place votes from the coaches to earn a total of 119 points in the SID poll and 116 points in the coaches’ poll. Last season, the Ladyjack defense led the league in goals allowed (12) and shutouts (13), while offense ranked second in goals (45) and assists (29).
Sam Houston State, who finished second in conference standings last season was slated by the coaches to finish in second place again with a total of 12 points. The coaches gave the Bearkats four first-place votes while the SIDs gave them three first-place votes and voted Sam Houston to finish in third with 102 points.
The 2014 conference tournament champions, Houston Baptist, edged the Bearkats to finish in second in the SID poll with 103 points. The coaches’ poll had the Huskies finishing in third place with a total of 100 points. Last season was the Huskies’ first soccer tournament appearance in the conference and swept the field to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
Southeastern Louisiana was picked to finish in fourth place by both coaches and SIDs. The coaches tallied a total of 92 points for the Lady Lions while the SIDs tallied 87 points. Southeastern completed the 2014 regular season with a 5-6-0 conference mark to enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed.
In the coaches’ poll Abilene Christian (68 points) was picked fifth followed by McNeese State (65) sixth just ahead of Nicholls (64), which was picked to finish in seventh place. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (47) was picked to finish in eight place, just ahead of Lamar who totaled 46 points for ninth place. Central Arkansas and Northwestern State tied for tenth place with 31 points while UIW was slated at the bottom with 20 points.
The SIDs also voted Abilene Christian (76) to finish in fifth place, but had Nicholls in sixth with 72 points. McNeese State (56) was picked to finish seventh followed by Lamar (46) in eighth, A&M-Corpus Christi (43) in ninth, Northwestern State (34) in 10th, Central Arkansas (33) in 11th and UIW (21) was picked to finish last.
The 2015 Southland soccer season begins Aug. 21 with conference play beginning Sept. 18. The conference tournament will be held Nov. 5-8 at the Bill Stephens Soccer Center on the campus of Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark. The championship match will be carried exclusively on ESPN3. In addition, first round and semifinal games of the tournament will be streamed live on the Southland Conference Digital Network, available at
southland.org and on the league’s Apple and Android mobile and tablet apps.
Coaches’ Poll |
|
|
Team |
Points |
|
1. Stephen F. Austin (8) |
116 |
|
2. Sam Houston State (4) |
112 |
|
3. Houston Baptist |
100 |
|
4. Southeastern Louisiana |
92 |
|
5. Abilene Christian |
68 |
|
6. McNeese State |
65 |
|
7. Nicholls |
64 |
|
8. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
47 |
|
9. Lamar |
46 |
|
10. Central Arkansas |
31 |
|
T10. Northwestern State |
31 |
|
12. UIW |
20 |
|
|
|
|
SID Poll |
|
|
Team |
Points |
|
1. Stephen F. Austin (9) |
119 |
|
2. Houston Baptist |
103 |
|
3. Sam Houston State (3) |
102 |
|
4. Southeastern Louisiana |
87 |
|
5. Abilene Christian |
76 |
|
6. Nicholls |
72 |
|
7. McNeese State |
56 |
|
8. Lamar |
46 |
|
9. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
43 |
|
10. Northwestern State |
34 |
|
11. Central Arkansas |
33 |
|
12. UIW |
21 |
|
|
|