SEMO tabbed for second in OVC women's soccer poll

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 play 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. Belmont (67), Eastern Kentucky (49) and Eastern Illinois (21) rounded out the 11-team field.

Southeast faces Vanderbilt in an exhibition game today 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.

Football

It should come as little surprise that North Dakota State was ranked No. 1 in the STATS FCS preseason poll and the FCS Coaches Top 25 on Monday.

The NCAA-record five-time defending Bison received 152 of the 158 first-place votes and had 3,941 points in STATS poll, and got all 25 first-place votes and 625 points in the coaches poll.

Sam Houston State is ranked second in both, receiving two first-place votes and 3,636 points in the STATS poll and 555 points in the coaches poll.

Two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champion and national runner-up Jacksonville State came in third in both polls.

The Gamecocks picked up the four remaining first-place votes and had 3,569 points in the STATS poll and 547 points in the coaches poll. It is the highest preseason ranking for an OVC team since then-league member Middle Tennessee State was ranked second to start the 1993 season.

Southeast Missouri State joined Eastern Kentucky (189 points), Eastern Illinois (151), UT Martin (7) and Tennessee State (2) as other OVC teams receiving votes outside the Top 25 in the STATS poll. The Redhawks received two points.

Southeast received 17 points in the coaches poll. Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky each received 70 points in the coaches poll.

Indiana State (3) and Southern Illinois (1), Southeast's Week 3 and 2 opponents, respectively, also received votes in the STATS poll.