Aug. 7, 2012
RICHMOND, VA. - Old Dominion, which returns 10 starters from last year's 12-6-2 team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship, is favored to capture the CAA men's soccer title in 2012 according to a vote of the league's men's soccer coaches. In the first NSCAA nationalPoll, ODU is 23rd.
The Monarchs claimed the top spot in the poll after receiving nine first-place votes and 99 total points. James Madison picked up one first-place tally and was second in the voting with 81 points while defending CAA champion Delaware was third with 72 points and William & Mary was fourth with 69 points. Northeastern placed fifth with 61 points, George Mason, which also received a first-place vote, was sixth with 58 points and Georgia State was close behind with 57 points. Hofstra and UNCW tied for eighth with 34 points, followed by Drexel and Towson.
ODU is coming off its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in the past decade in 2011. The Monarchs, who ranked second nationally in scoring (2.4 goals per game) last year, welcome back four all-conference honorees. Senior forward Yannick Smith (league-high 16g, 4a) earned third-team All-America accolades and made the All-CAA first team along with junior midfielder Gideon Asante (7g, 9a). Smith was also a semifinalist for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy(College Soccer's National Player of the Year Award). Asante ranked 17th nationally in total assists and was named second team All-Region.
Back from the All-CAA second team are junior forward Tim Hopkinson (10g, 8a) and senior goalkeeper Victor Francoz (1.38 GAA, 86 svs., 6 ShO), as well as CAA All-tournament selection Jason Gaylord (Defender). Francoz ranked 24th nationally with 86 total saves and earned first team All-Region Honors, whileHopkinson ranked 24th nationally in goals and 20th nationally in assists. Also returning are senior co-captains Chris Harmon (3 gls/4 ast) and Alex De John (Defender).
The Monarchs play at Georgetown in an exhibition match on Aug. 14, then host George Washington in an exhibition match on Aug. 18. ODU opens theregular season on Aug. 25th at home against Navy. The 37th annual ODU-Stihl Soccer Classic is Sept. 7 and 9 with VCU, Winthrop and Seton Hall.
The Monarchs will also play George Mason on Fox Soccer Channel, in the national game of the Week on Sept. 28th at ODU.
JMU has five starters returning from last year's 13-5-2 team that captured the CAA regular-season title and advanced to the final 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Senior midfielder Paul Wyatt (6g, 3a), a second-team All-America and first-team All-CAA honoree, is back to lead the Dukes along with third-team All-CAA midfielder Christian McLaughlin (1g, 8a) and senior defender Dale Robins-Bailey (2g, 3a).
Delaware won its first CAA title last season and then knocked off perennial power Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Topping the list of 10 lettermen who return from that 13-6-4 squad is junior forward Roberto Gimenez (10g, 7a), who was named CAA Rookie of the Year and first-team All-CAA. Also back are junior midfielder Vincent Mediate (4g, 3a) and starting defenders Yoan Fontaine, John Dineen and Prince Nartey.
William & Mary, which won the CAA championship in 2010, has eight starters returning from last season's 10-9 team. Junior defender Will Smith was a second-team All-CAA selection a year ago, while midfielder Marcus Luster and defender Michael Teiman were members of the CAA All-Rookie team.
Traditionally regarded as one of the top men's soccer conferences in the nation, the CAA sent four teams to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship in 2011 and has had at least one team advance to the round of 16 of the NCAA's in seven of the last 10 years.
2012 NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Men's RankingsRankSchoolPostseason 2011 Ranking2011 Record1North Carolina21-2-32UCLA 18-4-23Creighton21-2-14Connecticut19-3-35South Florida13-4-46New Mexico18-0-47Louisville14-7-28Charlotte16-5-49Maryland14-4-310Akron 15-4-411UC Santa Barbara 15-7-112Indiana 13-4-513UC Irvine16-6-114Boston College14-6-115St. John's14-7-216SMU13-7-117Costal Carolina18-4-018Saint Mary's (Ca.) 11-7-519James Madison13-5-220Northwestern11-5-521UAB13-5-322Brown12-5-323Old Dominion12-6-224Furman14-4-425Bradley15-6-2Receiving votes: Virginia, Rutgers, Duke, Wake Forest, California, Monmouth, West Virginia, Central Florida, William & Mary, Xavier, Cal State, Bakersfield, Northern Illinois, South Carolina.
2012 CAA Men's Soccer Pre-Season Coaches Poll1. ODU (9) 992. JMU (1) 813. Delaware 724. W&M 695. Northeastern 616. George Mason (1)587. Georgia State 578. Hofstra 34 UNCW 3410.Drexel 2411.Towson 16