Stanford picked as favorite in Pac-12 men’s soccer preseason poll

SAN FRANCISCO – Defending conference champion Stanford is the coaches’ preseason favorite in the coming 2021 Pac-12 men’s soccer season. The Cardinal, which won its sixth Pac-12 Championship in the past seven seasons during the most recent 2020 campaign, received 24 points including four first-place votes to edge runner-up Washington.

The Huskies secured the other two first-place votes and totaled 22 points to come in second in the poll. Fittingly, the two teams are similarly close in the United Soccer Coaches preseason national poll with Stanford at No. 8 and Washington at No. 9.

The two teams waged an epic battle for the 2020 crown, with the Cardinal emerging with the Conference title on 22 points (21 for Washington) via an overtime golden goal and 1-0 victory over the Huskies in the regular-season finale.

The Pac-12 title has been dominated by Stanford and Washington over the past eight seasons with the Cardinal claiming the crown six times (2014-18, 2020) and the Huskies twice (2013, 2019) during that span.

Oregon State, which finished a close third in the 2020 Pac-12 standings with 18 points, slotted third in the preseason poll with 17 points. The Beavers join the Cardinal and Huskies in the preseason national rankings at No. 16 after all three programs represented the Pac-12 in the 2020 NCAA Tournament.

UCLA (11 points), Cal (10 points) and San Diego State (6 points) rounded out the poll, with the Aztecs also receiving votes in the preseason national rankings.

The 2021 season kicks off with non-conference play beginning Thursday, Aug. 26, followed by Pac-12 action starting on Thursday, Sept. 16. Currently, 27 matches are set for broadcast on Pac-12 Networks with additional matches to air on Pac-12 Insider, the free broadband streaming channel from Pac-12 Network. More fall sports broadcast information can be found here.

The following are the results of the preseason coaches’ poll. Five points are awarded for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, three 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 MEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES POLL