SMU women's soccer has been picked to win its fourth-straight WAC title, as selected by the conference coaches. SMU finished 7-1 in conference play in 2003, and defeated Rice in the final minute of the conference championship match, taking home its third title in as many seasons.

SMU earned eight first-place votes and tallied 64 points to top the poll. Hawai‘i finished in second place with 55 points and one first place vote, edging Rice who gathered 50 points for third place. In fourth was UTEP that tallied 37 points, while Fresno State was picked to finish fifth with 35 points. In sixth place was Boise State with 28 points, followed by Tulsa (26), San Jose State (18) and Nevada (11).

The Mustangs are led by second-year head coach John Cossaboon, who returns eight starters from his championship squad. Leading the way for the Mustangs is midfielder Jill Heinemann, forward Olivia O’Rear, defender Amanda Jordan and goalkeeper Amanda Clark. O’Rear was tabbed the WAC’s 2003 Freshman of the Year. Jordan, Heinemann (the 2001 Freshman of the Year) and Clark have all been main stays on the All-WAC teams. SMU has a tough non-conference schedule this fall, including matches against Santa Clara, Stanford, Oklahoma, UCLA and Texas, preparing it for a title-defense run.

The WAC soccer season gets underway Friday, August 27 with 23 All-WAC members filling the rosters of this year’s teams.