·       Defending national champion begins the season at No. 1 for the second straight year

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For the second straight season, Lee (Tenn.) tops the preseason rankings as the Lady Flames are No. 1 in the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, the NAIA announced on Tuesday. Lee tallied 621 total points and 20 of the 22 possible first-place nods. The Lady Flames take over a No. 1 spot that was held by Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) for five straight polls to end the 2009 season.

Winning its second consecutive national championship, Lee finished 2009 with a 21-2-1 record. Lee shut out 14 opponents (in 24 matches) and ranked second in national statistics with 91 goals. Junior forward Jamie Achten returns to the pitch with 44 goals and 36 assists to her credit in two seasons. A two-time NAIA All-American, Achten will look to replace 2009 NAIA Player of the Year Christiane Christensen.

National runner-up Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) checks in at the No. 2 spot with 586 total points. The Sea Lions fell 2-0 to Lee in the national title game a year ago. At 15-5-4 overall, the Sea Lions finished fourth in the always difficult Golden State Athletic Conference. Point Loma Nazarene reached the championship final on the strength of tournament wins against top-10 conference members Azusa Pacific (Calif.) and Vanguard (Calif.). The Sea Lions ended the year on a 6-1-3 stretch.

No. 3 Concordia (Ore.) gathered 572 total points in the poll. The Cavaliers reached the 2009 NAIA Semifinals and finished with a 21-3 overall mark. Concordia will look to extend its hot streak at the end of the 2009 season as it won 14 of its final 16 matches.

A team ranked No. 1 in the final five polls in 2009, Lindsey Wilson slides down to the No. 4 position to start the 2010 season. The Blue Raiders earned the remaining two first-place votes and totaled 569 points. Lindsey Wilson advanced to the NAIA Quarterfinals and went 19-3-2 overall. With the top-five ranking, Lindsey Wilson now has been in one of the top five spots for the last 40 straight polls.

A 2009 national semifinalist, No. 5 Azusa Pacific begins this year in the top five with 552 total points. The Cougars won the Golden State Athletic Conference after a 17-3-2 overall mark. After a tie against Point Loma Nazarene in the semifinals, the Cougars head into this season with a 6-0-2 record in their last eight matches.

Thirteen conferences are represented in the Top 25 with the Golden State Athletic Conference leading all leagues with five schools. The GSAC is represented by Point Loma Nazarene, Azusa Pacific, No. 8 California Baptist. No. 12 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 23 The Master's (Calif.). The Southern States Athletic Conference, which added members from the former Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and now has 14 institutions, boasts Lee, No. 9 William Carey (Miss.) and No. 13 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.).

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The first regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Sept. 7.

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Notes:
With the top ranking, No. 1 Lee (Tenn.) has now held the No. 1 spot a total of eight times since the 2000 season… Lee has been rated in the top five for 33 consecutive weeks; the streak began on Aug. 15, 2007... No. 4 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) has been ranked at No. 1 34 times since 1999, the most in NAIA women's soccer... Lindsey Wilson has been ranked in the Top 25 for 112 consecutive weeks, dating back to the start of the 1999 season... Lindsey Wilson has been ranked in the top five for the past 40 consecutive weeks dating back to Sept. 20, 2006... No. 5 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) has held a top-five ranking for 32 consecutive weeks dating back to its No. 1 ranking on Sept. 5, 2007.

2010 NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll - (Aug. 17)

Others receiving votes:

Saint Ambrose University (Iowa) 93; Northwood University (Fla.) 65; Kansas Wesleyan University 64; Carroll College (Mont.) 52; William Jewell College (Mo.) 50; Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.) 49; William Jessup University (Calif.) 36; Missouri Baptist University 35; Science and Arts of Oklahoma (Okla.) 34; University of Mobile (Ala.) 28; Southern Nazarene University (Okla.) 21; Concordia University (Calif.) 21; Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio) 19; Robert Morris University (Ill.) 18; Spring Arbor University (Mich.) 18; Lindenwood University (Mo.) 13; Midland Lutheran College (Neb.) 9; McPherson College (Kan.) 7; Union University (Tenn.) 7; University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) 6; Faulkner University (Ala.) 4; Park University (Mo.) 1; Grace College (Ind.) 1; Benedictine College (Kan.) 1; Lyon College (Ark.) 1; Brenau University (Ga.) 1

^ Final rating from 2009 regular season Top 25 (Nov. 10, 2009)

* Submitted by the raters and reflecting the final 2009 record