Aug. 22, 2000

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--UCLA has been picked as the favorite to win the first Pacific-10 Conference men's soccer title by the head coaches as the inaugural season approaches kickoff. The Bruins garnered four of the five first-place votes while WASHINGTON, the two-time defending Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Champions, took the other. STANFORD shared second-place with the Huskies as each took in 18 points, followed by CALIFORNIA and OREGON STATE with nine and six points, respectively, to close out the poll. Last season, STANFORD, UCLA and WASHINGTON went on to compete in the NCAA Tournament.

Following are the results of the preseason coaches poll (points 5-4-3-2-1, first place votes in parentheses):

1. UCLA (4) 24 2t. Stanford 18 2t. Washington (1) 18 4. California 9 5. Oregon State 6

FIRST KICKS: The NSCAA Men's Soccer Preseason Top 25 poll includes No. 3 UCLA, No. 12 WASHINGTON and No. 23 STANFORD . . . The men's soccer season begins with OREGON STATE hosting BYU on August 25 . . . All Pac-10 teams begin play by September 2 . . . Two Pac-10 institutions won MPSF titles while competing in the league (UCLA- 4, WASHINGTON- 3).