Marquette Women's Soccer Receives Votes In NSCAA Preseason Poll

On Monday afternoon, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) released their preseason polls for both men's and women's soccer.  The Marquette women's squad picked up votes on their side, while the men's team did not.

The women's team earned 20 points to finish tied at an unofficial #30 ranking with Washington State University.  Two Big East squads ended up in the top 25, with DePaul coming in at #21, while Georgetown squeaked into the #25 spot.  Two of Marquette's non-conference opponents also received votes in the poll, with Michigan getting 10 points and Minnesota earning five points.  Head coach Markus Roeders will take his charges on the road to face the Wolverines, while the Golden Gophers will travel to Milwaukee for their matchup with the Golden Eagles.  Marquette will open the season at Valley Fields against Utah on August 21.

While the men's team did not earn any votes in the poll, their 2015 schedule is littered with ranked opponents.  Louis Bennett and his team will end up facing four teams in the preseason top 10: #3 Georgetown, #4 Notre Dame, #6 Creighton, and #7 Providence.  In case you were hoping that the rest of the Big East schedule was going to be a cakewalk after those three league opponents in the previous sentence, Xavier snagged a spot in the top 25 at #19.  Marquette will open the regular season on August 28 against an Oregon State team that got 10 points in the preseason balloting, so let's just say that picking up a win against the Beavers in Corvallis will go a long way towards improving everyone's view of the Golden Eagles.

You can check out the full men's top 25 here, and the full women's top 25 over this way.