Men's Soccer: WVU Picked Fourth in BIG EAST
August 12, 2009 03:15 PM | General
August 12, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team has been picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Blue Division, BIG EAST Conference officials announced today. The Mountaineers garnered 72 points in the preseason poll.
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"It's always nice to be recognized by your peers, and certainly, we consider ourselves to be one of the better programs in the BIG EAST,” coach Marlon LeBlanc says. “Our hopes are that there's much more in terms of team awards at the end of the season because those are important to us."
Making his way on to the list of preseason awards is redshirt junior Zach Johnson. The Lumberton, N.J., native was tabbed the BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year and also named to the all-BIG EAST preseason team. He becomes only the second player in program history to earn a BIG EAST preseason honor – Andy Wright earned preseason league honors in 2006 and 2007.
"It's expected that Zach be named BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year,” LeBlanc adds. “We consider him the premier goalkeeper in the BIG EAST and we're hoping that he establishes himself to the be premier goalkeeper in the country as well."
Johnson finished the 2008 campaign by garnering BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year accolades after collecting five shutouts in 11 league contests and stopping 51 shots. He boasted an .895 save percentage and allowed only six goals in 1,070 minutes (0.50 goals-against average).
St. John’s (N.Y.) garnered 13 of a possible 15 first-place votes in the Red Division (coaches are not allowed to vote for their team). The Red Storm placed two student-athletes on the league’s preseason squad, including Joel Gustafsson, the preseason defensive player of the year.
The 2009 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship will feature the top 12 of the league’s 16 teams. The top six teams in each division, seeded by conference point total, qualify for the conference championship. The top two teams in each division earn first-round byes to the quarterfinals. The first-round and quarterfinal games will be held on the campuses of the higher seeded teams. First-round games will be held on Nov. 5, with the quarterfinals following on Nov. 8.
WVU will host the men’s soccer championship for the first time. The semifinals are Nov. 13 and the title game is Nov. 15. The champion receives the league’s automatic bid to the 48-team NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship. CBS College Sports Network will air both semifinal games live. The championship game will be broadcast on select BIG EAST regional television outlets and CBS C.
The Mountaineers open their 2009 campaign with a home exhibition on Aug. 23 against Michigan. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk is scheduled for 1 p.m. WVU officially begins its season against 2006 national champion UC-Santa Barbara on Sept. 4 in the first game of the annual WVU/NIKE Classic, presented by Jerseys Subs.
BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll BIG BIG EAST Blue Division Points EAST Overall Finish Notre Dame (12) 110 7-2-2 12-7-2 1st Connecticut (3) 98 6-3-2 11-5-6 2nd Georgetown (1) 77 5-3-3 11-5-3 3rd West Virginia 72 3-4-4 5-9-5 5th Providence 60 5-5-1 9-7-3 4th Seton Hall 49 2-5-4 6-8-4 7th Marquette 24 1-8-2 3-10-4 8th Pittsburgh 22 3-6-2 6-8-4 6th BIG BIG EAST Red Division Points EAST Overall Finish St. John’s (13) 109 8-1-2 19-3-3 1st USF (1) 92 7-3-1 15-5-3 2nd Louisville (2) 91 5-5-1 11-8-2 4th DePaul 67 5-4-2 9-7-4 3rd Rutgers 42 3-6-2 6-9-3 8th Syracuse 40 4-6-1 8-6-3 T-6th Villanova 36 4-5-2 7-10-2 5th Cincinnati 35 4-6-1 7-10-2 T-6th (-) – received first-place votes BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Bright Dike, Notre Dame, Sr., F BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Joel Gustafsson, St. John’s, Sr., D BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year Zach Johnson, West Virginia, R-Jr., GK All-BIG EAST Preseason Team Nelson Becerra, St. John’s, Sr., MF Len Coleman, Georgetown, Sr., D *Bright Dike, Notre Dame, Sr., F *Joel Gustafsson, St. John’s, Sr., D Zach Johnson, West Virginia, R-Jr., GK Brayan Martinez, Seton Hall, Jr., MF Colin Rolfe, Louisville, So., F *Toni Stahl, Connecticut, Sr., MF Michael Thomas, Notre Dame, Sr., MF Steffen Vroom, DePaul, Sr., F Hansen Woodruff, Syracuse, Sr., MF/F * - unanimous selection
