Men's Soccer Tabbed Sixth in WCC Coaches Poll
8/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 1, 2005
San Bruno, CA- The Saint Mary's men's soccer team was picked to finish sixth as voted by the West Coast Conference coaches. The Gaels received 13 points in the preseason poll. Santa Clara was selected as the favorite with 33 points, which include three first place votes. Loyola Marymount and San Francisco rounded out the top three with 31 and 28 points respectively.
LMU and USF both received two first place points a piece. San Diego (19), Portland (17), Saint Mary's (13), and Gonzaga (6) rounded out the conference selections.
SMC returns 18 letterwinnners from last season including 10 starters. Among the returning players are Freshman All-American goalkeeper Brian Mason and three players who earned conference accolades.
Junior Matt Fitzgerald returns after two consecutive First Team WCC selections. Fitzgerald finished the year with two goals and three assists on the year. Senior Derek Youpel comes back to build on his WCC honorable mention performance. Youpel led all Gaels with 15 points and seven goals, five of which came during conference play. Senior David Vedder will anchor the Gaels defense and continue to lead a unit that stymies the most potent teams in the nation.
The Broncos, who posted a 15-6-0 overall record and an 8-3 mark in WCC play last year, will be looking for a third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament after finishing third in the WCC standings a year ago. Head Coach Cameron Rast returns eight starters from last season's squad, including All-American midfielder and team scoring leader Medhi Ballouchy in addition to a recruiting class that has been ranked among the nation's elite.
LMU, picked to finish second, earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight time last year, tying with Portland for the longest active selection streak among WCC programs. Despite losing All-American Matt Kovar to graduation, the Lions will rely on an experienced unit that includes 16 returning letterwinners and three second team All-WCC performers from last season.
San Francisco, the defending WCC champion, was selected for a third place finish and returns 10 starters including 2004 WCC Player of the Year Aaron Chandler. Erik Visser, last season's conference Coach of the Year, also welcomes back goalkeeper Geremy Uhl who paced the circuit with a 0.38 goals against average in WCC contests a year ago.
San Diego, tabbed fourth, also returns an experienced unit that includes 10 returning starters from a squad that went 4-6-2 in conference play last season. Included in the returning cast are first team All-WCC selections Michael Caso and midfielder Ryan Guy, who tied for the league lead with nine assists in 2004.
Portland, voted fifth, returns a number of key ingredients from last season's 12-8-2 squad including 2004 WCC Freshman of the Year Michael Gavin and goalkeeper Luis Robles, who led the conference with 104 saves in 2004. Gonzaga, picked to finish seventh, returns some offensive firepower with three of last season's top four scorers returning, including forward George Josten who tied for the team lead with five goals in 2004.
Men's Soccer 2005 Preseason Poll 1. Santa Clara - 33 (3) 2. Loyola Marymount - 31 (2) 3. San Francisco - 28 (2) 4. San Diego - 19 5. Portland - 17 6. Saint Mary's - 13 7. Gonzaga - 6 (First place votes)
MSOC | Game Highlights vs. Santa Clara
Thursday, October 16
MSOC | Bentley PK save and Toelhoej penalty goal, 1-1 draw vs. Seattle U
Saturday, September 27
MSOC | Saint Mary's vs. UC Davis Game Highlights
Thursday, September 04
MSOC | Postgame Interview vs. Cal Poly
Monday, August 26
