Notre Dame soccer: Early polls have Irish ranked

The Notre Dame men's soccer team debuts at No. 7 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll, 11th in the College Soccer News rankings and sixth according to BennettRank.

Eight Irish opponents appear in the NSCAA poll, including four in the top 10 alone. That figure doesn't include their first exhibition foe, Creighton, which is No. 6. The Irish and Blue Jays will square off Sunday in Omaha, Neb. The Irish went 17-4-1 last season.