KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Seeing its season come to a close in the SAC Championship semifinals, Anderson University women's soccer earned the No. 8 spot in the final regular-season National Soccer Coaches Association of American Southeast Region Poll, announced by the NSCAA on Tuesday.
After advancing to the SAC Championship semifinals in dramatic fashion following a penalty-kick victory over fourth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne, the Trojans saw their postseason run come to a close against top-seeded Carson-Newman, falling 1-0. The Eagles eventually went on to win the tournament title, defeating second-seeded Wingate in the championship, 1-0. With the setback, Anderson ended the 2015 season with a program-record 14 triumphs.
The weekly ranking marks the seventh straight week the Black and Gold has landed in the top-10 of the regional poll, as they narrowly missed advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. As the brackets for the national tournament were announced on Monday, Anderson saw two teams it defeated during the regular season.
The South Atlantic Conference represented half of the teams within the top-10, as Carson-Newman was slotted second and Wingate claimed the fourth spot. In addition, the last three positions were held by SAC teams, as AU was ranked No. 8, while Queens and Lenoir-Rhyne rounded out the poll, respectively.
Columbus State, which won the Peach Belt Conference Tournament over the weekend, claimed the top spot, while tournament runner-up, North Georgia was positioned third. Armstrong, which was eliminated in the PBC Tournament semifinals, was fifth, as Conference Carolinas Tournament champion, Limestone, moved back into the rankings in the sixth spot after earning the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Belmont Abbey, which won the regular-season title in Conference Carolinas, earned the seventh spot but saw its season come to close when the NCAA Tournament pairings were announced on Monday.
