Coker Men’s Soccer Takes Top Spot in Conference Preseason Poll
The men's soccer team was voted No. 1 in the preseason coaches' poll.
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College men's soccer team was voted No. 1 in the Conference Carolinas preseason coaches' poll, which was released today by the conference.
"It's very pleasing to be recognized by our fellow conference teams," head coach Paul Leese said. "To be voted No. 1 is a tremendous achievement. I am particularly pleased for our current seniors who have transformed the program during their time here. We know it will be tough to defend our conference title, but we hope to continue developing as a team."
The Cobras, who won the regular season and conference tournament last year, return 11 players. They went 18-3 overall with a 10-1 mark in conference play. Returning for the team are conference player of the year Carlos Recinos, scholar-athlete of the year James Sweeney, and all-conference performers Atticus Lum, Fernando Bedoya, Rommel Fondin and Stephen Scrivens.
Coker had nine first-place votes and edged out Limestone, which was second in the poll. The entire Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll is as follows:
1. Coker; 2. Limestone; 3. Lees-McRae; T-5. Erskine; T-5. Barton; 6. Queens; 7. King; 8. North Greenville; 9. Belmont Abbey; 10. Mount Olive; 11. Pfeiffer.
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletic conference made up of 12 teams from North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions are Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Coker College, Converse College, Erskine College, King College, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, Mount Olive College, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University and Queens University of Charlotte.
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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the "Best Colleges" in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.