Aug. 9, 2010
RICHMOND, VA-- The CAA coaches have picked ODU to finish second this year. The Monarchs return three All-Conference honorees. ODU hosts Howard in an exhibitionmatch on Aug. 21st at 6 p.m.
UNC Wilmington, which returns 10 starters from last season's 14-3-5 squad that captured its first CAA men's soccer title, is predicted to repeat as conference champion again this season according to a vote of the league's 12 men's soccer coaches.
Old Dominion, which has made six NCAA Tournament appearances in the past eight years, welcomes back six starters from last year's 11-5-2 squad. Leading the list of returnees for the Monarchs are third-team All-CAA goalkeeper Evan Newton (0.75 GAA, 54 svs.), second-team All-CAA forward Yannick Smith (So.,4g, 5a) and CAA All-Rookie forward Shane Howard (So.,3g, 6a). ODU also returns CAA All-Tournament selection, senior defender Adam Roscioli. Roscioli also earned ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District honors last year.
ODU keeper, Evan Newton led the CAA last year with nine shutouts and ranked thirdin the league witha 0.75 goals against average which ranked 25th nationally.
Shane Howard tied for third in the CAA with six assists, while Yannick Smith ranked eighth with five assists.
The Seahawks claimed the top spot in the poll after receiving eight of a possible 11 first-place votes and 114 total points. Old Dominion was second in the voting with 100 points while 2008 champion George Mason got one first-place vote and was third with 96 points. Northeastern received two first-place votes and was fourth with 89 points and William and Mary placed fifth with 83 points. James Madison, which also picked up a first-place vote, was sixth, Hofstra and VCU were tied for seventh, Towson was picked ninth, Delaware and Drexel were tied for 10th and Georgia State was 12th.
UNCW ended the 2009 season ranked #18 in the nation by Soccer America after winning its second straight CAA regular-season crown, capturing the CAA tournament title and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. The Seahawks return 10 starters from a year ago and are ranked #17 nationally by College Soccer News in its 2010 preseason poll. UNCW features three all-conference performers in senior All-America defender Indy Smith (2g), senior midfielder Daniel Roberts (4g, 5a) and senior goalkeeper Brock Duckworth (0.64 GAA, 93 svs). Sophomore Etienne Boulanger (5g, 1a) made the CAA All-Rookie team.
George Mason, which won the CAA championship in 2008, has nine starters back from last year's 10-7-1 team. Among the returnees for the Patriots are senior forward Victor Freeman (7g, 4a), a 2nd team All-CAA selection, senior forward Ernesto Marquez (4g, 3a), a 3rd team All-CAA pick, and sophomore defender Ryan Reichmann, who made the CAA All-Rookie squad.
Northeastern has advanced to the CAA championship game for the past two years and returns 16 lettermen from last season's 10-8-1 unit. The Huskies feature a pair of first-team All-CAA performers in senior defender Santiago Bedoya (1g, 5a) and sophomore forward Don Anding (7g, 2a), who was the 2009 CAA Rookie of the Year. Also back are junior midfielder Mike Kennedy (4g, 5a) and senior defender Matt Sanford, who were third-team All-CAA picks.
Traditionally regarded as one of the top men's soccer conferences in the nation, the CAA has sent multiple teams to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship in 12 of the 15 past seasons and has had at least one team advance to the round of 16 of the NCAA's in five of the last eight years.
2010 CAA MEN'S SOCCER PRE-SEASON COACHES POLL1. UNC Wilmington 1142. Old Dominion 1003. George Mason 964. Northeastern 895. William & Mary 836. James Madison 787. Hofstra 61 VCU 619. Towson 4410. Delaware 27 Drexel 2712. Georgia State 12
(Teams received 11 points for a first-place bote, 10 for second, etc. Coacheswere not allowed to vote for their own team.)