INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has been chosen as the favorite to claim the 2007 Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Soccer Championship. The Cougars collected 149 total points in the annual GLVC Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll as voted on by the conference’s head coaches.
SIU Edwardsville garnered six first-place votes and outdistanced Northern Kentucky University which finished second in the poll with 143 points. Northern Kentucky collected four first-place votes.
UW-Parkside finished third in the 2007 GLVC Preseason Coaches’ Poll with 130 total points and two first-place votes. Rockhurst University placed fourth in the poll with 125 total points and received the final first-place vote.
Lewis University placed fifth in the poll with 116 total points and the University of Indianapolis finished sixth with 90 total points. Drury University (88 points) finished seventh and was followed by Quincy University (81), Missouri-St. Louis (63), Bellarmine University (61), Missouri-Rolla (60), the University of Southern Indiana (37), Saint Joseph’s College (21) and Kentucky Wesleyan College (19).
SIUE, the 2006 GLVC Champion, posted a 15-4-3 overall record and finished 10-2-1 in league play a year ago. The Cougars advanced to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Final before falling to rival Northern Kentucky, 3-2, in overtime.
Head Coach Ed Huneke returns six starters from last season’s championship squad, including All-GLVC honorees Randy Roy and Zach Bauer. The backs will again anchor a defense that surrendered just one goal per game and maintained a 0.97 goals against average.
Also included in the Cougars’ returnees are their top three goal-scorers. Junior Dustin Attarian registered a team-high eight goals to go along with six assists last season. Senior Ross Beveridge and sophomore Kevin Bielicki each posted seven goals in 2006.
Northern Kentucky (16-3-3, 9-2-2 GLVC) is coming off the school’s best finish following a run to the NCAA Division II National Quarterfinals in 2006. The Norse claimed their first NCAA Great Lakes Regional title a year ago and will return five All-GLVC selections to this season’s roster.
Included among a host of returning starters from the 2006 team are All-GLVC selections Braden Bishop, Andy Bacon, Dan Impellizzeri, Tony Capurro and Tony Ray. Bishop was the 2006 GLVC Freshman of the Year and a First-Team All-Region selection after leading the Norse with 12 goals and 27 points in 2006.
The Norse will be tracking their first GLVC title since 1995. Like the Cougars, Northern Kentucky will be searching for their fifth GLVC title.
The complete 2007 GLVC Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll follows:
| |
Team (First-Place Votes) |
Total Points
|
| 1. |
SIU Edwardsville (6) |
149
|
| 2. |
Northern Kentucky (4) |
143
|
| 3. |
UW-Parkside (2) |
130
|
| 4. |
Rockhurst (1) |
125
|
| 5 |
Lewis |
116
|
| 6. |
Indianapolis |
90
|
| 7. |
Drury |
88
|
| 8. |
Quincy |
81
|
| 9. |
Missouri-St. Louis |
63
|
| 10. |
Bellarmine |
61
|
| 11. |
Missouri-Rolla |
60
|
| 12. |
Southern Indiana |
37
|
| 13. |
Saint Joseph's |
21
|
| 14. |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
19
|
| |
|
|
*The poll includes votes from 13 of the league’s 14 institutions.