The SLU Billikens went 20-2 and won the Atlantic 10 Conference and Tournament championships last season. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Paige Dale
Staff Writer
KANSAS CITY, MO — The Saint Louis University women’s soccer team was ranked No. 21 in the United Soccer Coaches 2023 NCAA Division I preseason national poll, which was released on Tuesday.
The national ranking is the second for Saint Louis in a United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, following the 2021 team’s No. 21 initial rating. SLU’s 2006 and 2019 teams were among those listed in the “also receiving votes” section of the preseason rankings.
The Billikens finished the 2022 ranked No. 20 in the country, after reaching as high as No. 10 during the season.
Defending national champion UCLA is the preseason No. 1, with 2022 national runner-up North Carolina at No. 2, followed by Notre Dame, Duke and Virginia. Florida State, Alabama, Arkansas, TCU and Penn State round out the top 10.
Among Saint Louis’ 2023 opponents, BYU is No. 13, while Xavier, Brown and Nebraska also received votes.
Saint Louis opens the season at BYU on Thursday, August 17. The game is one of only three opening-night contests matching nationally ranked opponents, joining No. 2 North Carolina at No. 10 Penn State and No. 12 South Carolina at No. 25 Clemson.
SLU will play exhibition games at Lindenwood (August 8) and at home versus Evansville (August 12), prior to the regular-season opener at BYU. The home opener at Hermann Stadium will be August 24 against Creighton.
NCAA WOMEN’S NATIONAL – PRE-SEASON POLL – AUGUST 1, 2023
| Rank | School | Prev | 1st Votes | Total Points | W-L-T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | UCLA | 1 | 8 | 200 | 22-2-1 |
| 2. | University of North Carolina | 2 | 0 | 192 | 20-5-1 |
| 3. | University of Notre Dame | 5 | 0 | 174 | 17-3-3 |
| 4. | Duke University | 6 | 0 | 161 | 15-5-3 |
| 5. | University of Virginia | 7 | 0 | 155 | 16-4-3 |
| 6. | Florida State University | 3 | 0 | 154 | 17-3-3 |
| 7. | University of Alabama | 4 | 0 | 145 | 23-3-1 |
| 8. | University of Arkansas | 8 | 0 | 137 | 13-4-5 |
| 9. | TCU | 10 | 0 | 130 | 14-5-5 |
| 10. | Penn State University | 13 | 0 | 123 | 15-5-3 |
| 11. | Stanford University | 16 | 0 | 118 | 17-2-3 |
| 12. | University of South Carolina | 9 | 0 | 111 | 15-4-5 |
| 13. | Brigham Young University | 14 | 0 | 108 | 11-3-7 |
| 14. | University of Pittsburgh | 12 | 0 | 92 | 14-5-3 |
| 15. | University of Texas | 17 | 0 | 79 | 15-3-4 |
| 16. | Georgetown University | 19 | 0 | 75 | 15-2-5 |
| 17. | Michigan State University | 15 | 0 | 71 | 18-3-3 |
| 18. | Northwestern University | 11 | 0 | 65 | 16-5-2 |
| 19. | Santa Clara University | 22 | 0 | 52 | 11-7-3 |
| 20. | University of Memphis | NR | 0 | 47 | 11-5-6 |
| 21. | Saint Louis University | 20 | 0 | 44 | 20-2-0 |
| 22. | University of Southern California | 23 | 0 | 40 | 12-3-3 |
| 23. | Harvard University | 25 | 0 | 32 | 12-2-3 |
| 24. | University of Central Florida | 23 | 0 | 25 | 9-2-7 |
| 25. | Clemson University | NR | 0 | 16 | 8-5-5 |
Records shown are final 2022 records.
Also receiving votes: University of California-Irvine (14), Xavier University (9), Brown University (7), Virginia Tech (7), Texas A&M University (5), Southern Methodist University (4), Rutgers University (3), University of Nebraska (2), University of Georgia (2), Samford University (1).