Indianapolis, Ind. – Southern Illinois Edwardsville has been chosen as the favorite to claim the 2006 Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Soccer Championship. The Cougars collected 168 points in the annual GLVC Men’s Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll as voted on by the conference’s 14 head coaches.
SIU Edwardsville garnered 12 first-place votes to outdistance Rockhurst which finished second in the poll with 154 points. Rockhurst picked up one first-place vote.
The Cougars, last season’s regular season champions, posted a 16-3-3 overall record and finished 11-0-1 in league play. SIU Edwardsville advanced to the NCAA Division II National Semifinals before falling to Franklin Pierce.
Head coach Ed Huneke returns four First Team All-GLVC selections from last year’s team including the 2005 GLVC Player of the Year Kevin Thibodeau (St. Charles, Mo./Chaminade). The senior back heads a strong returning nucleus that includes senior forward Mike Banner (Washington D.C./Georgetown), senior forward Victor Pacheco (Sao Luis, Brazil) and senior midfielder John Matthews (Edwardsville, Ill. Edwardsville).
Rockhurst, the reigning GLVC Champions, finished 2005 with a 15-5-1 overall record and 10-2-1 record in the GLVC. Sophomores Tom Heinemann (St. Louis, Mo./Christian Brothers) and Haggai Leboo (Nairobi, Kenya/Washington) return to lead the Hawks in 2005. Heinemann had 11 goals and 10 assists last season and Leboo, the 2005 GLVC Freshman of the Year, scored 19 goals and had four assists.
Quincy placed third in the preseason poll with 139 points and enters 2006 after posting a 12-5-4 record a year ago. UW-Parkside followed the Hawks in the poll standings with 136 points and will be looking to improve on last year’s 13-4-1 overall record. Lewis, 11-8-0 last season, rounded out the top five with 124 points.
Northern Kentucky finished sixth in the preseason poll and is followed by Drury (83 points), Indianapolis (82), Missouri-Rolla (78), Bellarmine (74), Missouri-St. Louis (47), Southern Indiana (44), Saint Joseph’s (27) and Kentucky Wesleyan (13).
The complete 2006 GLVC Men’s Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll follows:
| Team (First-place votes) |
Total Points
|
| SIU Edwardsville (12) |
168
|
| Rockhurst (1) |
154
|
| Quincy (1) |
139
|
| UW-Parkside |
136
|
| Lewis |
124
|
| Northern Kentucky |
105
|
| Drury |
83
|
| Indianapolis |
82
|
| Missouri-Rolla |
78
|
| Bellarmine |
74
|
| Missouri-St. Louis |
47
|
| Southern Indiana |
44
|
| Saint Joseph’s |
27
|
| Kentucky Wesleyan |
13
|