Southeastern Conference Coaches Pick Gators to Defend League Soccer Title in 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010 | Soccer
The University of Florida soccer program was picked by the league coaches to defend its Southeastern Conference team title in 2010, the conference office released Monday afternoon.
Florida earned 11 first-place votes in the poll released today. In 2009, UF claimed their 10th overall and fourth consecutive SEC title with an 8-1-2 league record.
In the preseason voting for the SEC East title, Florida led with 11 first-place votes and 66 points. Georgia was second with 53 points, followed by South Carolina (50), Tennessee (32), Vanderbilt (29) and Kentucky (18).
In the West, Auburn was first with 61 total points (six first-place votes). LSU was picked to finish second in the West with its 58 points, followed by Mississippi (47), Alabama (33), Arkansas (31) and Mississippi State (16).
Points were compiled on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for each division, though each coach was not allowed to vote for their own team. Each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion.
Florida returns six starters from the 2009 team that reached the NCAA Second Round. The Gators return three All-SEC performers - seniors Ashlee Elliott (2008 & 2007 All-SEC first team), Katie Fraine (2009 All-SEC first team) and Lindsay Thompson (2009 All-SEC second team).
Florida is ranked No. 11 in the 2010 NSCAA/adidas Preseason poll. The 2010 season will be challenging for the Gators, as more than half of Florida's 19 regular-season opponents received berths in the 2009 NCAA Championships' 64-team field. Five of the 10 that appeared in the 2009 NCAA bracket were SEC teams – Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi and South Carolina.
Florida opens the 2010-11 competitive season for the Gator athletic program when it plays host to Miami on Friday, Aug. 20. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium and admission is free. Then Florida meets No. 25 UCF in Orlando on Sunday, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. Both of the Gators' opening weekend matches will be televised. The Miami match airs live on Sun Sports and the UCF match is scheduled to appear on Fox Sports Florida.
| 2010 SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll | |||
| (First-place votes in parentheses) | |||
| SEC Champion: Florida (11), South Carolina (1) | |||
| Eastern Division | Western Division | ||
| Florida (11) | 66 | Auburn (6) | 61 |
| Georgia | 51 | LSU (4) | 58 |
| South Carolina (1) | 50 | Mississippi (2) | 47 |
| Tennessee | 32 | Alabama | 33 |
| Vanderbilt | 29 | Arkansas | 31 |
| Kentucky | 18 | Mississippi State | 16 |
| 2009 Southeastern Conference Team Standings - Final | ||||||||||||
| Team | SEC | Pts. | H | A | Div. | ALL | Pct. | |||||
| EASTERN DIVISON | ||||||||||||
| Florida# | 8-1-2 | 26.0 | 6-0-0 | 2-1-2 | 4-0-1 | 16-6-2 | .708 | |||||
| South Carolina% | 7-3-1 | 22.0 | 5-0-0 | 2-3-1 | 3-2-0 | 19-4-2 | .800 | |||||
| Georgia | 7-4-0 | 21.0 | 4-2-0 | 3-2-0 | 4-1-0 | 15-6-1 | .705 | |||||
| Vanderbilt | 5-6-0 | 15.0 | 3-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 11-8-1 | .575 | |||||
| Tennessee | 4-5-2 | 14.0 | 1-2-2 | 3-3-0 | 1-3-1 | 8-9-3 | .475 | |||||
| Kentucky | 2-8-1 | 7.0 | 1-3-1 | 1-5-0 | 0-5-0 | 5-10-4 | .368 | |||||
| WESTERN DIVISON | ||||||||||||
| LSU^ | 8-2-1 | 25.0 | 4-0-1 | 4-2-0 | 4-0-1 | 15-4-5 | .729 | |||||
| Mississippi | 7-2-2 | 23.0 | 4-2-0 | 3-0-2 | 4-0-1 | 13-6-2 | .667 | |||||
| Auburn | 6-5-0 | 18.0 | 3-2-0 | 3-3-0 | 3-2-0 | 10-9-3 | .523 | |||||
| Arkansas | 2-7-2 | 8.0 | 1-5-0 | 1-2-2 | 1-3-1 | 8-7-4 | .526 | |||||
| Alabama | 2-8-1 | 7.0 | 1-4-1 | 1-4-0 | 1-3-1 | 6-11-1 | .361 | |||||
| Mississippi State | 1-8-2 | 5.0 | 1-2-2 | 0-6-0 | 0-5-0 | 9-8-2 | .526 | |||||
| #Regular Season and Eastern Division Champion; ^Western Division Champions; %SEC Tournament Champions | ||||||||||||
