Aug. 22, 2005

LOS ANGELES, Calif. The LMU men's soccer team is ranked 24th in the recently announced Soccer America preseason poll. The Lions will play nine of their 20 games against teams ranked in the top 25 as they look to secure their fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Five of LMU's seven non-conference opponents are ranked in the preseason poll and should prepare the Lions for a difficult WCC schedule.

The Lions return 10 starters and 16 letterwinners from the 2004 squad that finished 11-8-3 overall and 8-3-1. LMU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row, and returns a squad with experience, depth and talent. All-WCC Second Team players Armando Melendez, Diego Barrera and Nick Blanco return for the Lions and should help to create a powerful offense.

The Lions open their season against Illinois-Chicago at the UC Irvine Tournament on Saturday, September 3rd at 5pm. After a game against North Florida on September 5th, the Lions play four straight games against teams ranked in the top 25- UCLA, Tulsa, SMU and UC Santa Barbara. The matches against UCLA (Sunday, Sept. 11) and UC Santa Barbara (Sunday, Sept. 28) will be played at Sullivan Field. The Lions start WCC action on September 30th against Gonzaga.

Earlier this summer, College Soccer News ranked the Lions 28th to start the season.

- GO LIONS! -