Southeast Missouri State women's soccer team picked to finish second in OVC

The Southeast Missouri State women's soccer team has been picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Southeast received one first-place vote and 134 total points in voting done by the league's coaches and sports information directors.

Two-time defending OVC regular-season champion Morehead State is favored to repeat. The Eagles have not lost a conference game the past two years.

The Eagles, who also won the 2010 OVC tournament to earn the league's NCAA tournament berth, garnered 14 of the 20 first-place votes and 154 points.

Austin Peay, which lost in last year's OVC tournament title game, nabbed the other five first-place votes but with 133 points fell just short of Southeast.

Murray State was picked fourth with 94 points, followed by Tennessee-Martin (90), Eastern Kentucky (88), Eastern Illinois (81), first-year OVC member SIU-Edwardsville (67), Tennessee Tech (37) and Jacksonville State (22).

Southeast went 8-9-1 overall last year and tied for second in the OVC with a 4-3-1 record. The Redhawks open the season Aug. 19 at Illinois State. They play an exhibition contest Aug. 13 against Iowa State in St. Louis.