Aug. 15, 2001

NKU RANKED NO. 2 IN NATIONAL POLL

UC San Diego picked to repeat as Division II national champions

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s soccer team is ranked No. 2 nationally in the NCAA Division II top 25 coaches preseason poll. NKU posted a 21-2-2 record last season and finished as the NCAA Division II national runner-up. The Norse also finished with a No. 2 national ranking, the best in the program’s four-year history. The University of California at San Diego, which defeated NKU for the national championship last season, is picked No. 1 in the poll. NKU returns nine starters, including seven seniors who have been in the lineup for three years. NKU also brought in a pair of top-notch recruits as it attempts to win its fourth consecutive Great Lakes Valley Conference championship and earn its third straight berth in the NCAA Division II Final Four. The Norse return NCAA Division II first team All-Americans Betsy Moore and Tricia Ruark to the lineup in 2001. Moore, a senior forward and a graduate of McAuley High School in Cincinnati, enters her final season as NKU’s all-time career leader in goals with 52. She also ranks No. 2 in school history with 31 assists. A year ago, Moore scored a team-leading 15 goals. Ruark, a senior midfielder and a graduate of Seton High School in Cincinnati, earned GLVC Player of the Year honors last season after scoring 11 goals and recording 20 assists. NCAA Division II Top 25 Preseason Poll 1. UC San Diego 2. Northern Kentucky 3. Barry (Fla.) 4. Franklin Pierce 5. North Florida 6. Central Oklahoma 7. Southern Connecticut State 8. Mercyhurst (Pa.) 9. Bloomsburg (Pa.) 10. Lynn (Fla.) 11. Sonoma State 12. Francis Marion 13. Lock Haven (Pa.) 14. Ashland 15. Mesa State 16. Minnesota-Duluth 17. Christian Brothers 18. Cal Poly Pomona 19. Minnesota State 20. C. W. Post 21. Merrimack (Mass.) 22. Regis 23. Tusculum 24. Truman State 25. Cal State-Bakersfield