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Men's Soccer Tabbed No. 1 In Preseason BIG EAST Poll; Three Named To
All-Conference Team
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (August 6, 2007) – The University of
Connecticut men's soccer team has been chosen to capture the 2007
BIG EAST regular season Blue Division title, as announced by the
league office Monday. In addition, senior Julius James
(Maloney Gardens, Trinidad) and juniors Akeem Priestley
(Kingston, Jamaica) and O'Brian White (Scarborough, Ontario)
were each selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team. For the
third straight year, the Huskies were picked to claim the Blue Division title,
while defending BIG EAST Champion St. John’s was voted to finish atop the Red
Division. The votes were cast by the league’s 16 head coaches, who were not
permitted to vote for their own teams.
Connecticut earned 10 first-place votes and 105 points in the 2007 preseason
poll. The Huskies compiled a record of 10-7-2 overall, and a second-place finish
with an 8-2-1 conference mark in the Blue Division last year. UConn made its
12th consecutive appearance in the BIG EAST Championship, and has a
league-leading 22 bids overall. For the 10th straight year, the Huskies earned
an NCAA Championship berth.
Leading Connecticut will be 2007 BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the
Year James. A two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, the senior
defender was a 2006 M.A.C. Hermann Semifinalist and an NSCAA/adidas All-America
First Team selection. Last season, White was an All-BIG EAST First Team honoree,
while Priestley was tabbed a second team performer.
BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Preseason
Coaches’ Poll
BIG
BIG EAST
Blue Division Points EAST
Overall Finish
Connecticut (10) 105 8-2-1
10-7-2 2nd
Notre Dame (4) 102 8-3-0
15-6-2 3rd
West Virginia (3) 86 9-0-1
15-3-3 1st
Providence 68
7-4-0 13-7-0 T4th
Seton Hall 62
7-4-0 9-8-1 T4th
Georgetown 40
3-8-0 6-11-0 7th
Marquette 29
0-11-0 1-15-1 8th
Pittsburgh 20
4-5-1 5-11-2 6th
BIG
BIG EAST
Red Division Points
EAST Overall Finish
St. John’s (9) 105
5-4-2 14-6-2 3rd
Rutgers (1) 90
6-4-1 10-6-3 2nd
USF (3)
81 4-3-4 9-6-4
4th
Cincinnati (2) 79
7-3-1 11-6-2 1st
Louisville (1) 70
4-5-2 5-10-3 5th
Syracuse
36 2-8-1 7-8-1
7th
Villanova
26 2-9-0
6-10-1 8th
DePaul
25 4-7-0
5-12-2 6th
(-) - Indicates first place votes
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Joseph Lapira, Sr., F, Notre Dame
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Julius James, Sr., D, Connecticut
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Jason Landers, Sr., GK, St. John's
All-BIG EAST Preseason Team
Matt Besler, Jr., MF/D, Notre Dame
Eliseo Giusfredi, Jr., F, Seton Hall
Amir Ikner, Sr., D, Cincinnati
Julius James, Sr., D, Connecticut*
Jason Landers, Sr., GK, St. John’s
Joseph Lapira, Sr., F, Notre Dame*
Ryan Maduro, Sr., MF, Providence*
Akeem Priestley, Jr., MF, Connecticut
Ryan Soroka, So., F, St. John’s
O’Brian White, Jr., F, Connecticut
Andy Wright, Sr., MF, West Virginia
* - unanimous selection
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