ROCK HILL , S.C. – The Anderson University men's soccer team has been picked to finish sixth in the annual Preseason South Atlantic Conference Coaches' Poll. The Trojans have finished fifth three of the last four regular seasons while seeing its postseason come to a close in the opening round of the 2015 SAC Championships for only the second time in program history.
The Black and Gold have high expectations in 2016 and are ready to take over the top spot as they did during the 2011 campaign finishing the regular SAC season with a perfect 9-0 record.
For the second year in a row, defending SAC regular-season champion, Wingate, earned the top spot capturing nine first place votes and 119 total points. Carson-Newman claimed the second spot, earning two first place votes while Lincoln Memorial and Queens rounded out the top-four. Tusculum picked up 77 points and placed fifth while Anderson secured the sixth spot with 71 total points. Lenoir-Rhyne was picked to finish seventh while Mars Hill landed in the eighth position with 46 points. Catawba finished ninth in the poll with 44 points. Coker, Newberry, and Brevard rounded out the 2016 SAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll.
The preseason first and second teams were also announced today by the league office. Anderson garnered three players on the preseason All-Conference Team.
Senior defender Ryo Ogawa was honored as a First-Team selection while junior defender Josh Calabria and senior midfielder Brad Du Plooy were placed on the Second-Team.
Anderson will get its regular season underway on September 1st when it travels to Lees-McRae for a non-conference matchup. The Trojans will open their home slate on September 3rd when it welcomes Flagler to Trojan Stadium for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
2016 SAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
School (first-place votes) Total
1. Wingate (9) 119
2. Carson-Newman (3) 112
3. Lincoln Memorial 98
4. Queens 95
5. Tusculum 77
6. Anderson 71
7. Lenoir-Rhyne 65
8. Mars Hill 46
9. Catawba 44
10. Coker 33
11. Newberry 26
12. Brevard 12
First Team All-Conference
F – Jon Ander, Wingate
F – Tom Read, Carson-Newman
F – Corey Brown, Queens
F – Ismael Noumansana, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Aksel Juul, Wingate
MF – Callum Ross, Wingate
MF – Henrique Rezek, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Thibault Mathorez, Carson-Newman
D – Alex Nelson, Wingate
D – Guillermo Lazcano, Tusculum
D – Damian Gaona, Wingate
D – Ryo Ogawa, Anderson
GK – Pablo Jara, Wingate
Second Team All-Conference
F – Bruno Andrade, Carson-Newman
F – Marius Staalby, Carson-Newman
F – Danilo da Silva, Lincoln Memorial
F – Ryan McPhillips, Brevard
MF – Marc-Kevin Schwenk, Queens
MF – Brad Du Plooy, Anderson
MF – Polymnios Avgousti, Carson-Newman
MF – Amine Merdjett, Mars Hill
D – Ryan Kawczynski, Queens
D – Ricardo Da Silva, Tusculum
D – Hisham Abedlaziz, Lincoln Memorial
D – Josh Calabria, Anderson
GK – Jorge Alvarez, Tusculum
