Arkansas Ranked 17th To Begin 2017

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —  The Razorback soccer team is continuing its preseason work this week as it looks ahead to its 2017 season opener at SMU. When the Razorbacks face the Mustangs, it will be Arkansas that has a national ranking of No. 17.

Formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), the United Soccer Coaches (USC) poll was the first entity to release its preseason poll for the 2017 season and placed the Razorbacks two spots higher than its final ranking of the 2016 season (No. 19).

Arkansas completed, arguably, its best season in program history, last year where it won a school-record 18 matches, including eight in conference play, as well as reaching the SEC Tournament championship and the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Razorbacks have reached the NCAA Tournament three times in the last four seasons and hosted the first round for the first time in program history last year as part of its record-breaking season.

Three teams that are ranked in the USC preseason poll will face the Razorbacks this season, two coming from the SEC. No. 14 UConn will be Arkansas’ first test against ranked opposition when it travels to Storrs, Connecticut for the first matchup between the two programs on Sept. 7.

In conference play, one of Arkansas’ biggest weekends will be when it travels to face No. 10 Auburn (Oct. 5) before returning home to take on No. 4 South Carolina (Oct. 8) at Razorback Field. South Carolina and Auburn were the only two teams to finish ahead of the Hogs in the SEC standings last year.

No. 7 Florida is the only other SEC team ranked in the preseason USC poll, but will not face the Razorbacks in the regular season.

Arkansas kicks off the regular season on Friday, Aug. 18 against SMU in Dallas. The Razorbacks will face Omaha in its only exhibition of the season this Thursday at Razorback Field. First kick is set for 7 p.m.

Season tickets are now on sale for $25. Each season ticket order will come with one 2017 Razorback Soccer scarf.  Single-game tickets can be purchased for $5 at the Razorback Field box office, which opens one hour before kickoff on game days. Current students can be admitted with their UA ID, and children 17 and under are admitted free.

For more information on Razorback Soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.

2017 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women’s Preseason Poll