1.  Wake Forest - The Deacons are on a roll.  Eight starters return from the 2007 team that won the National Championship with a 22-2-2 overall record.  Marcus Tracy and Cody Arnoux return up-top.  Sam Cronin anchors a midfield that may be the best in the country.  The backline requires some rebuilding but plenty of talent is on hand to plug the gaps.  

2.  Connecticut -  The Huskies will be talented and hungry in 2008.  A very potent combination.  Talented in that nine starters are back including O’Brian White (23g, 7a) from the 2007 team that was 20-3-1 overall.  Hungry because their season ended unexpectedly in the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tourney when they were upset at home by Virginia Tech.

4.  Indiana -  Nine starters return supplemented by another stellar recruiting class.  Senior midfielder Brad Ring will set the pace for IU in 2008.  Senior forward Kevin Noschang is among those who must add to the attack for the Hoosiers to prosper.  Junior back Ofori Sarkodie and senior goalkeeper Chay Cain will anchor a solid defense.

5.  Santa Clara -   The Broncos lose a lot of talent from the 2007 squad but dig a little deeper and it is clear that Cameron Rast will again field a very competitive team in 2008.  Seven starters return including forward Jide Ogunbiyi, midfielders Stephen McCarthy and Jalil Anibaba and goalkeeper Kevin Klasilla plus a recruiting class that includes Mykell Bates.

6.  Boston College  -  The Eagles were brilliant last year wining both the ACC regular season and tourney titles but they were upset by UMass in the NCAA Tourney.  Nine starters return including midfielder Alejandro Bedoya and keeper Chris Brown but the big question is who is going to replace forward Sherron Manswell and midfielder Reuben Ayarna.

7.  Creighton -  The Bluejays made their sixteenth straight NCAA Tourney appearance last year.  In building one of the nation’s most consistent programs, coach Bob Warming  has the Bluejays in position to reload annually rather than rebuild.  Seven starters from the 2007 team return supplemented by a recruiting class that should have an immediate impact.

8.  Saint Louis -  The Billikens were on a roll last year scoring 26 goals in their last six regular season matches before ending with back-to-back 0-0 contests in A-10 and NCAA Tourney play.  Saint Louis should make a mark on the national scene in 2008 with nine starters back including forward Dado Hamzagic, midfielder Kyle Patterson, and back Calum Angus.

9.  UC Santa Barbara -  It is true that the Gauchos have big gaps to fill due to the loss of defender Andy Iro and midfielders Ciaran O’Brien and Eric Avila among others but help is on the way so don’t look for a substantive drop off in the level of play at UCSB.  Chris Pontius and Nick Perera return up-top while Alfonso Montagalvan returns in the midfield. 

10.  Brown - Mike Noonan welcomes back nine starters from the 2007 team that was 15-2-1 overall and was the number six seed in the NCAA Tourney.  The big question is who is going to plug the gap that exists due to the graduation of forward Kevin Davies and defender Matt Britner.   Dylan Sheehan (10g, 6a) and Rhett Bernstein are key retuning players.

11.  South Florida -  George Kiefer has indicated that the Bulls will focus on taking it one game at a time.  If they do that and maintain the level of intensity on the road that they display at home they will be a very tough side to face in 2008.   USF returns nine starters including defender Yohance Marshall, midfielder Kevon Neeves and forward Jordan Seabrook.

3.  Maryland - The Terps have the talent from top to bottom to get back into the Final Four for the first time since winning the National Championship in 2005.  Lack of depth hampered Maryland at times last year but that should not be a problem in 2008.  Maryland returns nine starters including Graham Zusi and Jeremy Hall up-top and back Omar Gonzalez.