The University of Texas at Tyler women’s soccer team was picked to finish fourth in the American Southwest Conference by the league’s coaches in their annual preseason poll released Friday.

UT Tyler finished last season tied for sixth in the ASC with an 8-5 conference record. The Patriots were 8-7 overall last season.

Stefani Webb will lead the Patriots for the first time this season, coming to UT Tyler from the University of Dallas where she compiled a 91-46-7 record in eight years as a head coach. UT Tyler returns eight starters and ten letterwinners for 2005.

The Patriots will open their season with a non-conference home game on Sept. 3 at 5 p.m. against Richard Stockton (New Jersey), a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference. It will be the first-ever game on UT Tyler’s new premier soccer field.

Two-time defending ASC women’s soccer champion Hardin-Simmons University collected 11 of 14 first-place votes and the No. 1 spot in the poll.

Hardin-Simmons, winner of seven of nine ASC titles including the last two league races (2003, 2004), totaled 191 points to outdistance second-place preseason pick University of Texas at Dallas by 10 points (181 pts.), last season's runner-up to HSU in the regular-season standings.

2005 ASC PRESEASON WOMEN’S SOCCER COACHES POLL

Team (1st place votes) Pts. 2004 Records
1. Hardin-Simmons (11) 191 19-2-1, 13-0-0 ASC
2. Texas-Dallas (2) 181 16-3-2, 11-1-1 ASC
3. Texas Lutheran 161 14-4-1, 10-3-0 ASC
4. Mississippi College 142 14-6-0, 9-4-0 ASC
4. Texas-Tyler 142 8-7-0, 8-5-0 ASC
6. East Texas Baptist 128 11-5-1, 9-3-1 ASC
7. Austin College (1) 104 10-8-2, 8-5-0 ASC
8. Mary Hardin-Baylor 91 7-8-1, 6-6-1 ASC
9. Univ. of the Ozarks 75 5-14-0, 5-8-0 ASC
10. LeTourneau 73 4-12-0, 4-9-0 ASC
11. McMurry 57 2-15-1, 2-10-1 ASC
12. Concordia-Austin 42 2-11-0, 2-11-0 ASC
13. Schreiner 37 1-16-0, 1-12-0 ASC
14. Louisiana College 21 1-17-0, 1-12-0 ASC