SEMO soccer tabbed for second-place finish in OVC preseason poll

Posted Monday, August 8, 2016, at 11:00 AM

For the second year in a row the Southeast Missouri State soccer team was predicted to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll.

Murray State, which won the regular-season and tournament titles last season, was picked to repeat as champion.

The poll is voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors and was released Monday morning.

The Racers received 18 first-place votes and led the way with 198 points while the Redhawks received 150 points.

MSU went 10-0 in conference last year (16-5 overall) and beat Southeast 1-0 with a golden goal in the final minute of overtime in the OVC tournament championship.

Southeast went 9-8-7 a year ago and finished sixth in the conference standings with a record of 3-2-5.

"I would like to congratulate Murray State on their top preseason ranking," coach Heather Nelson said in a press release. "I would also like to give a huge shout out to last year's team for the role they played in earning a second-place preseason ranking. Our 2015 team stayed the course and finished as OVC tournament finalists, in addition to their nationally elite academic success, and commitment to community service."

Tennessee Tech was third in the poll with 147 points and one first-place vote. UT Martin was fourth with 140 points and two first-place votes. Morehead State received the final first-place vote and had 135 points, which was good for sixth. Jacksonville State was fifth with 137 points.

Austin Peay and SIU Edwardsville tied for seventh with 84 points while Belmont (67), Eastern Kentucky (49) and Eastern Illinois (21) rounded out the 11-team field.

Southeast faces Vanderbilt in an exhibition game Tuesday in Nashville with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

The Redhawks open the season at Tennessee on August 19. Their home opener is August 21 against Illinois-Springfield.