Florida Gators soccer picked to win SEC

Special to GC

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The University of Florida is the Southeastern Conference coaches’ preseason pick for the 2015 league title, the SEC office released Monday afternoon.
The Gators received 167 points that included 11 first-place votes, topping the Texas A&M’s 149 points (two first-place votes). Kentucky also received a vote for first place.



In 2014:

Florida was second in the 2014 SEC regular-season race with a 9-2 league record. Texas A&M won the 2014 SEC title with its 9-1-1 record. TAMU’s 2014 league loss was a 1-0 decision to Florida in College Station, Texas.
The Gators return the three players placed on 2014 All-SEC teams – junior forward Savannah Jordan<http://www.gatorzone.com/soccer/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=102> and senior defenders Claire Falknor<http://www.gatorzone.com/soccer/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=89> and Christen Westphal<http://www.gatorzone.com/soccer/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=96>. This same trio were part of the U.S. Under-23 National Team which won the Four Nation’s Tournament this spring<http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=30745>.
Jordan led the SEC in scoring again in 2014, as she turned in 10 goals and 23 points in league action.
The SEC Preseason Poll

Preseason Coaches’ Poll

(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
Team Points

Florida (11) 167



Texas A&M (2) 149
Kentucky (1) 140
South Carolina 134
Tennessee 117
Missouri 110
Auburn 103
Arkansas 80
Georgia 71
Mississippi 64
LSU 49
Alabama 38
Vanderbilt 34
Mississippi State 18
Points were compiled on a 13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, though each coach was not allowed to vote for their own team.
Season Opener:

Soccer is the first Florida team competing this season, as the Gators open 2015 action Friday, Aug. 21. The opener features a pair of teams ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll as No. 8 Florida opens at No. 17 UCF. Match time is set for 8 p.m. at the UCF Soccer Complex.
There are two preseason matches before Florida opens on Aug. 21. Florida plays host to Troy Aug. 11 and FGCU Aug. 15. Both preseason matches are closed to the public.
2014 Southeastern Conference Team Standings

TEAM

SEC Pts. OVERALL PCT.

HOME

AWAY

NEUTRAL
Texas A&M

9-1-1

28

22-3-2

.852

14-1-1

5-1-0

3-1-1
Florida

9-2-0

27

17-4-2

.783

10-0-0

7-4-1

0-0-1
Kentucky

8-3-0

24

16-7-1

.686

9-1-1

4-5-0

3-1-0
Missouri

6-4-1

19

12-7-3

.614

7-1-1

5-3-1

0-3-1
South Carolina

5-3-3

18

15-6-4

.708

8-3-1

4-2-3

3-1-0
Auburn

5-3-3

18

12-7-3

.614

6-2-2

4-3-1

2-2-0
Alabama

5-4-2

17

10-7-3

.575

5-4-2

5-2-1

0-1-0
Georgia

5-5-1

16

10-8-2

.550

6-2-0

4-5-1

0-1-1
Arkansas

4-4-3

15

9-7-6

.500

5-4-1

4-2-4

0-1-1
Tennessee

4-6-1

13

10-10-2

.500

4-4-0

3-5-1

3-1-1
Mississippi

3-4-4

13

8-6-5

.553

4-2-4

4-4-1

0-0-0
Vanderbilt

2-7-2

8

7-10-2

.421

4-3-2

3-7-0

0-0-0
LSU

1-9-1

4

5-13-2

.300

3-6-2

2-7-0

0-0-0
Mississippi State

0-11-0

0

3-15-0

.167

2-9-0

1-6-0

0-0-0