Spartans finish No. 23 in final NSCAA poll of season
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG's women's soccer team finished the season ranked No. 23 in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Hendrickcars.com poll of the 2010 campaign.
UNCG was ranked 10th in the final regular-season poll, but tumbled 13 spots after falling 2-1 to then-No. 20 South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Nov. 12.
National champion Notre Dame jumped six spots to No. 1 after topping previously undefeated and top-ranked Stanford in the NCAA title game Sunday.
The poll featured several big moves from the final regular-season poll, with five teams falling out of the poll, two making leaps of at least 13 spots and Washington entering the poll for the first time all season at No. 15.
The Spartans turned in the best season in school history in 2010, compiling a 19-2-1 overall record and going 11-0-0 in the Southern Conference to win the regular-season title for the fifth straight year. UNCG matched the school record for overall wins and set new marks for fewest losses and longest winning streak, a 16-gamer that was the second-longest in the nation entering the NCAA tournament.
UNCG also won its seventh SoCon tournament title and turned in the first unbeaten home mark in school history, going 9-0-0 at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
UNCG was ranked by the NSCAA in the final seven polls of the season, peaking at No. 10 in the Nov. 9 poll. The top-10 ranking was UNCG's first since November 1996, when the Spartans were ranked No. 9. UNCG was ranked in the final poll of the season for the first time since finishing No. 21 in 1997.
Midfielder Cat Barnekow, keeper Kelsey Kearney and forward Tabitha Padgett were NSCAA second-team All-Southeast Region performers, while midfielder Jenn Partenheimer took third-team distinction.
NSCAA/Hendrickcars.com National Rankings
Rank Team Pts Last W-L-T
1 Notre Dame (34) 850 7 21-2-2
2 Stanford 816 1 23-1-2
3 Boston College 759 18 17-7-1
4 Ohio State 740 17 17-5-2
5 Oklahoma State 667 6 20-4-2
6 North Carolina 657 3 19-3-2
7 Florida State 578 11 16-6-1
8 Portland 545 2 19-1-2
9 Virginia 526 8 15-5-2
10 Maryland 477 4 18-2-3
11 Marquette 419 12 16-5-3
12 Florida 406 5 19-2-3
13 West Virginia 400 14 18-5-1
14 UC Irvine 378 16 19-3-2
15 Washington 330 NR 13-9-2
16 Texas A&M 316 9 15-5-3
17 Oregon State 304 15 16-4-1
18 Georgetown 268 NR 15-7-2
19 Santa Clara 206 19 13-7-2
20 Duke 200 RV 11-8-4
21 Minnesota 188 RV 14-6-3
22 UCLA 168 RV 13-8-2
23 UNCG 143 10 19-2-1
24 South Carolina 127 20 15-6-4
25 Wake Forest 107 21 13-8-3
Number in parentheses indicates first-place votes
- UNCG -