13.  California -  Seven straight NCAA Tourney appearances and two consecutive Pac-10 championships is proof that Kevin Grimes’ plan for  success is working for the Golden Bears. Eight starters return from the 2007 team including sophomore forward Andrew Wiedeman, senior midfielder Pat Marion, defender Tyler Barry and junior keeper Stefan Frei. 

14.  UCLA -  The Bruins are accustomed to a higher preseason ranking  but the bottom line is that they enter the 2008 season off a subpar 9-9-3 overall record.  Seven starters return including forward Maxwell Griffin, midfielders Jason Leopoldo and Kyle Nakazawa, defender Brad Rusin, and goalkeeper Brian Perk.  Big early wins may rocket the Bruins upward.

15.   Notre Dame -  The Irish will be without forward Joe Lapira who was the face of the program for the past two years.  They also must replace forward Kurt Martin, defender Ryan Miller and goalkeeper Chris Cahill.  New faces will have to step forward to lead the Irish attack but at the end of the day count on Bobby Clark’s squad being very competitive.

16.   Northwestern -  The Wildcats will miss the energy and skill that  midfielder David Roth (6g, 7a) brought to the pitch but this team has the potential to be special.  Nine starters return from the 2007 team that was 12-5-3 overall.  Carl Pett and Piero Bellizzi return in the midfield.  Back Mark Blades and keeper Misha Rosenthal will anchor the defense.

17.   UIC -  The Flames return nine starters from the 2007 team that was 13-6-6 overall and made a brilliant run to the Elite Eight in NCAA Tourney play.  UIC will miss the services of talented midfielders Cesar Zambrano (6g, 7a) and Pavle Dundjer (5g, 3a).  Returning players include forward Matt Spiess, midfielder Baggio Husidic and keeper Jovan Bubonja.

18.  Akron -  The Zips have had back-to-back top five recruiting classes which will no doubt begin to pay dividends.  Six starters return from the 2007 team that was 15-4-2 overall.  Key returning players include forward Steve Zakuani, midfielders Matt Tutich and Anthony Ampaipitakwong, defender Ossie Michalsen and goalkeeper Evan Bush. 

19.  New Mexico -  This season may be a tipping point for the Lobos who have earned 4 consecutive NCAA Tourney berths and have the highest winning percentage (.795) in the country from 2004-2007.  The program seems to have peaked in 2005 when they played for the National Title.  Senior forward Chris Wright (12g, 4a) is among eight returning starters.

20.  Furman - Yes, All-Americans Jon Leathers and Shea Salinas have departed along with keeper Bryan Amos but Doug Allison returns a talent rich team.  Some new faces will have to step forward but with the likes of Haris Cekic (10g, 2a), Brooks Duff (7g, 4a), Eric Baffour (8g, 1a) and Patrick Murray (2g, 13a)  back the Paladins will roll again in 2008. 

12.  SMU - The Mustangs looked to be Final Four material last year but stumbled down the home stretch losing two out of their last three games. SMU will again be solid in 2008 but they will be in a transition mode.   The biggest change is that Tim McClements has taken over the reigns of the program from veteran head coach Schellas Hyndman.

21.  Louisville - Coach Ken Lolla upped the Cardinals win total from five in 2006 to eleven in 2007.  Add to that the fact that Louisville earned their first ever NCAA Tourney berth last year and it is clear that the program is heading in the right direction.  Nine starters are back from the 2007 team including midfielders Phil Edington, Othaniel Yanez and Aaron Clapham.   

22.  Massachusetts - Sam Koch’s squad returns eight starters including six of their top scorers from last season’s seventeen win team that showed their grit by playing their way into the Final Four.  UMass will seek to build on the success they enjoyed last year and establish that they are for real.  Forward Bryan Hogan (8g, 2a) and keeper Zack Simmons are keys.

23.  Ohio State - John Bluem’s Buckeyes are coming off the best season ever in the history of the program but there clearly is a need for some major restocking in Columbus due to the departure of Xavier Balc, Casey Latchem, Eric Brunner, and Roger Espinoza.   However, seven starters return giving the Buckeyes a very solid nucleus upon which to build.