PROVIDENCE, R.I. – UConn was the unanimous choice as the favorite to claim the 2014 American Athletic Conference men's soccer title in voting by the league's eight head coaches. The Huskies received seven of the eight first-place votes.
UConn finished 12-3-8 last season and were ranked ninth in the nation in the final NSCAA poll. The Huskies became the only Division I school in the country to advance to the Elite Eight for the third straight season in 2013.
USF finished second in the preseason poll with 48 points and garnered a first-place vote after posting an overall record of 8-4-9 last year. Tulsa took third place with 41 points and UCF followed in fourth place with 39 points. Temple was picked fifth with 33 points. SMU received 27 points to finish sixth, followed by Memphis (21 points) in seventh and Cincinnati (15 points) in eighth.
UCF junior Romario Williams, a MAC Hermann Award candidate, was chosen as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. The forward scored 10 goals last season, including six game winners, and was named to the 2013 NSCAA All-Northeast Region First Team. He was picked as the inaugural American Offensive Player of the Year last season.
UConn senior Sergio Campbell was tabbed Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The Clarendon, Jamaica native was an All-Conference First Team pick in 2013 and was part of a Husky defense that recorded 12 shutouts on the year. Campbell started in all 23 games for UConn and logged a team-high 2,204 minutes on the field.
Temple goalkeeper Dan Scheck is the preseason pick for Goalkeeper of the Year. Scheck ranked 14
th in the nation in Goals Against Average in 2013 (0.675). The senior made 79 saves last season for a save percentage of 0.859, and tied the school record for shutouts in a season with nine.
Thirteen student-athletes were selected to the 2014 Preseason All-Conference Team.
The 2014 men’s soccer season begins on Friday, Aug. 29. Conference play starts on Friday, Sept. 26.
2014 American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Preseason Honors
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
|
Place |
School |
Points |
First-Place Votes |
|
1. |
UConn |
56 |
7 |
|
2. |
USF |
48 |
1 |
|
3. |
Tulsa |
41 |
|
|
4. |
UCF |
39 |
|
|
5. |
Temple |
33 |
|
|
6. |
SMU |
27 |
|
|
7. |
Memphis |
21 |
|
|
8. |
Cincinnati |
15 |
|
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Romario Williams, UCF, Jr., F
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Sergio Campbell, UConn, Sr., D
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Dan Scheck, Temple, Sr.
Preseason All-Conference Team
GK - Dan Scheck, Temple, Sr.
B – Richardo Israel, Cincinnati, Jr.
B – Sergio Campbell, UConn, Sr.*
B – Robert Sagel, Temple, So.
B – Bradley Bourgeois, Tulsa, Jr.
M – Adria Beso, UConn, Sr.*
M – Lindo Mfeka, USF, So.
M – Jared Martinelli, Temple, Jr.
M – Akeil Barrett, Tulsa, Sr.
F – Cyle Larin, UConn, So.*
F – Allando Matheson, UConn
F – Romario Williams, UCF, Jr.*
F – Edwin Moalosi, USF, Sr.
[*] – denotes unanimous selection