Thomasville, NC- The Queens University of Charlotte men’s soccer team finds themselves in familiar territory, atop the CVAC men’s soccer poll as voted upon by CVAC head coaches.  The Royals return a wealth of talent at both ends of the field and are looking forward to the season ahead.  Coach Fred Norchi is extremely excited about the depth of the Queens men’s soccer program this season.  He returns an All-American duo at defense with senior Michael Hensen and junior Bruce Mottern who both received the honor last season.  The 2005 CVAC Coach of the Year also returns three 1^st Team All-Conference Players  in Mottern, Hensen and senior Demetrius Donald along with two 2^nd-Team All-Conference Players seniors John Ross and Eric Blevens. 

            The Men’s Soccer Team has competed in 3 NCAA tournaments (1999, 2002 and 2004), has won 5 CVAC Conference Tournaments, and owns 7 regular season CVAC titles.  Last year the Royals claimed the CVAC regular season title with a 9-0-1 CVAC record to extend their regular season dominance by winning 5 of out the last 6 years titles.  Overall they finished with a 14-1-3 record that was highlighted by 0-0 tie to Clayton State in the NCAA Tournament.  The game was finally decided on penalty kicks, but Queens looks to avenge that loss with another NCAA tournament run this year.

            Mount Olive begins defense of its first-ever CVAC Tournament Championship title, winning the championship as the No. 4 seed last year after tying for third to match its best regular season finish. The Trojans return 13 players with experience in the starting lineup, including six players who earned All-CVAC or All-Tournament honors in 2004.

            Mount Olive ranked No. 7 in the nation in scoring last year. Leading the offense is senior Reid Clewis, who ranked third in the CVAC in points per game last season with career highs of 13 goals and 10 assists. Mount Olive loses CVAC Player of the Year Cory Worrell and national assists leader Warren Atkins to graduation, but while this year’s squad may not have that one nationally-ranked scoring leader, the scoring load may be more balanced this season with several players handling the scoring load.

            Defensively, a rash of season-ending injuries last year blossomed into a deep pool of players with big game experience. Junior All-CVAC selections Michael Garrett and Charles Williams, along with senior sweeper Ryan Brown, give the Trojans experience and leadership on defense. Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Roush ranked in the top 30 in the nation in goals against average and was named MVP of last year’s CVAC Tournament.

            After Mount Olive narrowly missed a bid to last year’s NCAA Tournament, the Trojans look to also have say in post-season play.

            Coaches voted in Belmont Abbey as the third team in the preseason soccer poll. The Crusaders are coming off a 10-8-2 season in which they finished second in the CVAC during the regular season with an 8-2 CVAC mark and made the finals of the CVAC Conference Tournament.

   The Crusaders return 12 players from last year’s squad and add 13 new players. Returning for The Abbey are senior Sean O’Connor, who will be one of the top keepers in the CVAC, and sophomore Luis Arrieta, who posted ten goals last season despite several injuries. Included in this year’s recruiting class is freshman Kyle Fenner who played on the Dallas Texans Under 18-team that won the USYSA national championship.

            The Abbey men’s soccer team is now under the direction of former assistant coach Stuart Brown. This is Brown’s first collegiate coaching position, but assisted former Crusader Head Coach Charles Morrow for two seasons and was director of coaching for the Gaston United Soccer Club during those two years.  Coach Brown looks for continued success and improvement for his inaugural season at the helm.

            Lees-McRae finished fourth in the poll with Barton & Erskine tied for fifth followed by Pfeiffer, Anderson, Limestone, St. Andrews, and Coker respectively rounding-out the poll standings.

CVAC Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll (# of First Place Votes in Parenthesis)

1.   Queens                                                            (6)                           94

2.   Mount Olive                                                   (3)                           90

3.   Belmont Abbey                                              (2)                           83

4.   Lees-McRae                                                                                    66

T-5.   Barton                                                                                          52

T-5.   Erskine                                                                                         52

7.   Pfeiffer                                                                                             49

8.   Anderson                                                                                        47

9.   Limestone                                                                                        29

10. St. Andrews                                                                                    27

11. Coker                                                                                                16