Cobra Men's Soccer Picked Third in Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Coker College men's soccer team has been picked third in the 2011 Conference Carolinas men's soccer preseason coaches' poll released Thursday. This is the highest ranking the Cobras have ever received in a preseason conference poll.

The Limestone College has been voted as the preseason favorites to capture the program's first ever Conference Carolinas Regular Season Championship. The Saints have narrowly missed a share of the regular season title in each of the past two seasons, falling short of Lees-McRae, this season's number two team, by a single point in the final standings on each occasion.

The Cobras return a large portion of last season's Conference Carolinas Tournament Finals team, including Second Team All-Conference and All-Tournament selection Rommel Fondin and All-Tournament selection James Sweeney. The Cobras will be looking to make a third straight appearance in the Conference Carolinas Tournament Finale after finishing the 2010 season with a record of 7-7-5 overall.

A young squad, the Cobras are led by juniors Fondin and Sweeney. Fondin returns to lead the offense and Sweeney will lead the defense. Fondin was the team's second leading scorer with four goals with two assists for 10 points last season, while Sweeney led the defense as the starting goalkeeper recording 69 saves with six shutouts.

Coker will open their 2011 season with a road trip to Florida to face Florida Tech on Sept. 3 ad Rollins College on Sept. 5. The Cobras first home game of the season will be on Sept. 10 at 7:00 p.m. against Francis Marion.

Check out the video below to hear what Coach Paul Leese had to say about how the preseason has gone and what he thinks about the Cobras being picked third in the preseason poll.

Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll (# of First Place Votes in Parenthesis)