Tulsa Men's Soccer Team Ranked No. 12 Nationally
9/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 10, 2002
Tulsa, Oklahoma - The University of Tulsa men's soccer team is ranked No. 12 nationally in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national poll. The Golden Hurricane is also the top-ranked team in the NSCAA Midwest Region poll.
With a 3-0 start in 2002 and wins against 15th-ranked UW-Milwaukee and UMKC, both NCAA Tournament participants a year ago, Tulsa's No. 12 national ranking is the highest in school history. The previous high of No. 20 came in 1991 and 1997.
For the first time in school history, Tulsa is the top-ranked team in the Midwest Region. Despite its successful history, including the 1991 NCAA Tournament team, TU has never achieved the top ranking in the region until now. In this week's poll, Tulsa ranks ahead of MVC opponents SMU, Creighton and Bradley, respectively. The Hurricane was ranked No. 4 in last week's regional rankings.
Tulsa is also the highest ranked team in the Missouri Valley Conference. TU is ranked ahead of SMU (#17) and Bradley (#24), while Creighton received votes. In the 2002 MVC preseason coaches poll, Tulsa was picked to finish fifth behind SMU, Creighton, Southwest Missouri State and Bradley, respectively.
TU will hit the road for the first time this season when it travels to Corvallis, Oregon, this weekend to compete in the OSU/Diadora Classic at Oregon State University. The four-team field includes Gonzaga, Oregon State, Tulsa and UC-Riverside. TU opens up the two-day event on Friday, Sept. 13 against 2001 NCAA Tournament participant, Gonzaga (1-2), in a first-time meeting at 5:00 p.m. CT. On Sunday, Sept. 15, the Hurricane battles tournament host Oregon State (2-1) at 4:00 p.m. CT.
2002 NCAA Division I Men September 9, 2002 Rank School W-L-T 1 Stanford 3-0-0 2 Clemson 2-0-1 3 St. John's 2-1-0 4 UCLA 3-0-0 5 Notre Dame 2-0-1 6 South Carolina 4-0-0 7 Connecticut 2-1-0 8 Loyola (Md.) 3-1-0 9 Indiana 1-1-2 10 Maryland 3-1-0 11 San Diego 4-0-0 12 Tulsa 3-0-0 13 North Carolina 3-1-0 14 Rutgers 1-1-1 15 Virginia 3-1-0 16 Furman 3-0-0 17 SMU 2-1-1 18 Penn State 2-2-0 19 Boston College 2-1-0 20 Pittsburgh 4-0-0 20 Loyola Marymount 3-0-1 22 Wisconsin 4-0-0 22 Wake Forest 2-0-1 24 Bradley 3-0-1 24 Saint Louis 0-2-1 Also Receiving Votes: Hofstra, Creighton, American, Washington
