Aug. 22, 2012
RICHMOND, Va. - Old Dominion senior forward Yannick Smith has been chosen as the CAA's preseason men's soccer Player of the Year for 2012 in voting by the league'shead coaches. Three other Monarchs join him on the Pre-season All-CAA squad. Theyinclude senior goalkeeper Victor Francoz, and juniors Gideon Asante and Tim Hopkinson. Both Smith and Francoz are on the Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy watch List for 2012.
Smith shares the POY honor with James Madison senior midfielder Paul Wyatt, who also earned All-America honors a year ago.
The Monarchs rank 23rd by the NSCAA and 13th by College Soccer News pre-season polls. ODU opens regular season Saturday night at home against Navy.
Smith led the CAA with 16 goals and 34 points last season as ODU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. He earned first-team All-CAA and All-Region accolades and received third-team All-America honors from the NSCAA and College Soccer News. He ranked 12th nationally in scoring and ninth nationally in goals.
Wyatt contributed six goals and three assists for a JMU squad that captured the CAA regular-season title and reached the final 16 of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. He was a first-team All-CAA and All-Region selection and was chosen to the NSCAA All-America second team.
Joining Smith at forward on the preseason All-CAA men's soccer team are Towson junior Olakunle Banjo, Delaware junior Roberto Gimenez and ODU junior Tim Hopkinson. Banjo, who tallied four goals and two assists last season, made the All-CAA third team in 2011. Gimenez was the CAA Rookie of the Year and a first-team All-CAA pick a year ago after contributing 10 goals and seven assists for a Blue Hens' squad that claimed the CAA championship. Hopkinson recorded 10 goals and eight assists for ODU last season and was chosen to the All-CAA second team. Hopkinson ledODU with four game-winning goals and ranked 24th nationally in goals and 20th nationally in assists.
Along with Wyatt in the midfield are ODU junior Gideon Asante, Northeastern junior Dante Marini and Delaware junior Vincent Mediate. Asante had seven goals and nine assists for ODU last season to earn a spot on the All-CAA first team. Asante ranked 17th nationally in total assists.
Marini was also a first-team All-CAA honoree after leading the Huskies with seven goals and five assists. Mediate, who contributed four goals and three assists for the Blue Hens last year, was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the CAA Men's Soccer Championship.
Making the preseason All-CAA team on defense are Hofstra junior Shaun Foster, Georgia State junior Chris Locandro and William & Mary junior Will Smith. Foster has been selected as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year for the past two seasons and also contributed a team-best five goals in 2011. Locandro was also a first-team All-CAA pick last year after anchoring a Panthers' defense that allowed less than a goal per game and recorded nine shutouts. Smith, who was a second-team All-CAA honoree in 2011, recorded two assists and was the top performer on a Tribe defense that posted seven shutouts.
At goalkeeper is ODU senior Victor Francoz, who was a member of the All-CAA second team last season. He posted a 1.38 goals against average, made 86 saves and recorded six shutouts for the Monarchs. Francoz had 86 total saves last year whichranked him 24th nationally.
2012 PRESEASON ALL-CAA MEN'S SOCCER TEAM
Player, SchoolTim Hopkinson, ODU FYannick Smith, ODU FGideon Asante, ODU MFDante Marini, NU, MFVincent Mediate, UD, MFPaul Wyatt, JMU MFShaun Foster, HOF DCchris Locandro, GS DWill Smith, W&M DVictor Francoz, ODU GK
COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS TOP 201. North Carolina2. New Mexico3. Charlotte4. Connecticut5. Maryland6. Akron7. UCLA8. South Florida9. UC Santa Barbara10. Coastal Carolina11. Indiana12. Boston College13. ODU14. Creighton15. UC Irvine16. Northwestern17. St. John's18. Louisville19. Wake Forest20. UAB