Thomasville, NC- The Belmont Abbey men’s soccer team has been picked to finish first in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference according to a vote of the league’s head coaches.  The Crusaders are coming off a 12-8-1 season overall and an 8-2 CVAC mark before capturing the CVAC Championship Tournament title.

            The Crusaders return 21 players from last year’s team, including its top five scorers, who combined to score 26 of the Crusaders 36 goals. Senior midfielder Nick Wyatt led the Abbey with ten goals and three assists for 23 points.  He was named to the All-CVAC First team and the CVAC Tournament Most Valuable Player along with earning First Team All-Southeast Region honors.   Wyatt and junior Luis Arrieta, who was an All-CVAC Second Team member, will look to anchor the Abbey’s run at defending their tournament title.

            The Queens University of Charlotte men’s soccer team will have a new look for the 2006 season. They graduate five starters from the 2005 season, including three All-Americans.  Coach Fred Norchi notched his 200th win in his 15th season last year and has led the Royals to three NCAA tournaments (1999, 2002 and 2004), five CVAC Tournament titles, and eight regular season titles.  A consistent leader in the conference, last years team claimed the CVAC regular season title with a 9-1 CVAC (14-5 overall) record to extend their regular season dominance by winning six of out the last seven years. The Royals will be led by First Team All-CVAC selection Matt Herbstritt, and last year All-Tournament team members John D. Hannon and Neal Woodworth.

            Mount Olive brings back nine starters from a team that surpassed the 10-win mark for the second year in a row (6-3-1 CVAC, 11-6-2 overall) to take the third spot in the annual preseason poll. After winning the CVAC championship in 2004, the Trojans spent six consecutive weeks in the Adidas/NSCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Top 25 in 2005, placing as high as No. 7. Mount Olive will look to use their experience this year to excel as six Trojans have earned All-CVAC honors during their career, including junior goalkeeper and two-time honoree Chris Roush and a quintet of seniors: midfielders Chris Jasso, Erik Small and Charles Williams, and defenders Michael Garrett and Brandon Mills.

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

 

  

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

1.   Belmont Abbey                                         (5)                     93

2.   Queens                                                      (4)                    91

3.   Mount Olive                                                (1)                    79

4.   Pfeiffer                                                       (1)                    72

5.   Anderson                                                                           69

6.   Lees-McRae                                                                       55

7.   St. Andrews                                                                       45

8.   Barton                                                                                33

9.   Limestone                                                                          32

10. Erskine                                                                               24

11. Coker                                                                                 12

 

 

 

2006 CVAC “Preseason Players to Watch” List

(As selected by the member institutions)

 

Name:                                      School: Year:                Highlights:

Douglas Nyame                        Anderson         JR         2005 1st Team All-CVAC

Lahnden Onger                        Anderson         So        2005 CVAC Freshman of the Year & 2nd Team All CVAC

Scott Summers                        Barton              SR        2005 1st Team All-CVAC

Randol Mendoza                      Barton              SR        Midfielder

Nick Wyatt                               Belmont Abbey SR        2005 1st Team All-CVAC

Luis Arrieta                              Belmont Abbey JR         2005 2nd Team All CVAC

Kyle Fenner                              Belmont Abbey So        2005 2nd Team All CVAC

Justin Potter                           Coker              SR        2005 All-CVAC Honorable Mention

Kyle Bennett                            Erskine             So        2005 2nd Team All CVAC

Simon Morris                            Erskine             So        Midfielder

Diego Cordiero                         Lees-McRae     JR         2005 2nd Team All CVAC

Tom Beattie                             Limestone        So        8 goals in 17 games played

Brandon Mills                           Mount Olive      SR        2005 1st Team All-CVAC

Chris Roush                             Mount Olive      JR         Two-time All-CVAC, 2004 CVAC Tourney MVP

Michael Garrett                        Mount Olive      SR        2004 All-CVAC 1st Team

Erik Small                                 Mount Olive      SR        2003 All-CVAC 2nd Team

Charles Williams                      Mount Olive      SR        2004 All-CVAC 2nd Team

Cihan Nuhoglu                         Pfeiffer            SR         2005 1st Team All-CVAC

Oscar Zepada                          Pfeiffer            SR        Defender/Midfielder

Matt Herbstritt                         Queens                        SR        2005 1st Team All-CVAC

Carl Hunter                              Queens            SR        Center Back

Jerry Momoh                            St. Andrews     JR         2005 All-CVAC Honorable Mention

Nick Stevens                            St. Andrews     So        2005 All-CVAC Honorable Mention