Pac-12 women’s soccer preseason rankings feature Stanford in top position

SAN FRANCISCO – Defending conference champion STANFORD is the coaches’ preseason favorite in the coming Pac-12 Women’s Soccer season to be played in the winter and spring of 2021.

The Cardinal, which won its fifth consecutive Pac-12 crown and third NCAA national championship in 2019, received 115 points including five first-place votes.

UCLA was picked to finish second in the coaches poll with 110 points, collecting four first-place votes. The Bruins, who fell to the Cardinal in the 2019 Women’s College Cup semifinals, came out just ahead of third-place USC, which finished with 108 points and three first-place votes.

WASHINGTON STATE, which also reached the Women’s College Cup semifinals in 2019, took fourth place with 86 points. CALIFORNIA garnered 76 points to take the fifth slot, followed by Arizona in sixth with 67 points.

WASHINGTON (57 points), COLORADO (48 points), OREGON STATE (45 points), UTAH (38 points), OREGON (22 points) and ARIZONA STATE (20 points) rounded out the poll.

Non-conference play kicks off this week with ARIZONA, ASU and USC taking the pitch on Thursday, Feb. 4. Conference competition opens on Friday, Feb. 26 with all Pac-12 programs in action. For more information, including television schedules, please visit pac-12.com.

Pac-12 Women’s Soccer enjoyed one of its best-ever campaigns during the most recent 2019 season. The Conference matched its record with nine teams in the 2019 NCAA Tournament and saw three teams advance to the NCAA College Cup with Stanford claiming its third National Championship, marking the league’s sixth all-time and fifth in the past nine seasons.

All women’s soccer matches will be conducted in accordance with the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee health and safety recommendations and guidelines, available at Pac-12.com/health.

The following are the results of the preseason coaches’ poll. 11 points are awarded for a first-place vote, 10 points for a second-place vote, 9 for a third-place vote, etc. First-place votes are in parentheses. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams.

2021 Pac-12 Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll