KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Thanks to an 18-3-2 overall record and an appearance in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, the University of South Alabama soccer team is ranked No. 25 in the final 2015 National Soccer Coaches Association of America coaches' poll.
The appearance in the top 25 is the first final ranking in school history and the first by a Sun Belt Conference school since Denver in 2010. The Jaguars received 58 votes.
USA won its second consecutive Sun Belt regular-season title last month, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament – the first postseason win for the Jaguars in school history and just the second-ever by an SBC member – thanks to a 4-0 home win over LSU. The run ended a week later at the hands of eventual semifinalist Florida State, which earned a No. 3 final ranking.
The Jags finished with a perfect 9-0 mark in league play, becoming the first Sun Belt school to record a 100-percent record since 2010, and outscored their opponents 13-3, including a 4-0 victory in the final, in winning their third straight tournament crown.
Seven individuals were named all-Sun Belt – five on the first team and two on the second – and the Jaguars picked up the coach-, freshman- and defensive player-of-the-year awards.
Auburn and South Florida, the only two schools to hand South Alabama a regular-season defeat, are both listed in the rankings. Auburn is No. 12 after a round-of-16 loss to FSU, and South Florida picked up 21 votes to finish just outside the top 25.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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