/
.
Virginia Men's Soccer Picked to Finish Second in the ACC
Story Links
Aug. 10, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – – The Virginia men’s soccer team has been picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference as determined by a vote of the league’s nine head coaches in the 2006 ACC Preseason Poll. UVa, which finished second during the 2005 regular season, received 65 points in finishing behind preseason favorite North Carolina which earned 73 points.
Virginia returns 17 letterwinners and 10 starters from last year’s team that finished 12-5-3 overall, 6-2-0 in the conference. The Cavaliers return 10 of their 11 starters from a 2005 team that advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. UVa welcomes three of the nation’s top 100 freshmen. Virginia, which was No. 6 in the 2006 CSN Preseason Top 30 poll, is led by All-ACC first-team selection and Freshman All-American forward Yannick Reyering, All-ACC second team selections forward Adam Cristman and midfielder Nico Colaluca. Goalkeeper Ryan Burke enters his fourth year as a starter in goal and is one of the team’s captains with Reyering.
North Carolina advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament a year ago and earned the No. 3 spot in the 2006 College Soccer News Preseason Top 30 poll, which was released earlier this week. North Carolina returns 10 starters and is joined by three of the nation’s top 100 freshmen and an impact transfer. The program also returns 95 percent (39 of 41 goals) of its scoring from a year ago, led by senior forward Ben Hunter’s 13.
Maryland is the coaches’ pick to finish third after accumulating 62 points and earning two first-place votes. The reigning 2005 National Champion Terrapins are coming off a memorable year in which the program finished with a 19-4-2 record and claimed their first national title since 1968. Maryland, which added nine to its rosters this season, will serve as host for the 2006 ACC Championship, beginning Oct. 31 at the Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown.
Completing the preseason poll in order of projected finish is Duke (56), Clemson (47), Wake Forest (38) Virginia Tech (33), Boston College (16), and NC State (15). Below is a listing of the preseason coaches’ poll with the programs’ respective 2005 records.
2006 Preseason ACC Men’s Soccer Poll
School(1st place votes) Points 2005 Record1. North Carolina(4) 73 17-4-3 (3-3-2)2. Virginia(1) 65 12-5-3 (6-2-0)3. Maryland(2) 62 19-4-2 (7-1-0)4. Duke(1) 56 12-5-3 (3-3-2)5. Clemson(1) 47 15-6-3 (2-4-2)6. Wake Forest 38 13-8-2 (1-5-2)7. Virginia Tech 33 10-5-5 (3-2-3)8. Boston College 16 5-9-2 (0-6-2)9. NC State 15 11-7-1 (4-3-1)