CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Finishing as the runner-up in the 2015 Patriot League men’s soccer tournament, American took the top spot in the sport’s preseason poll announced on Tuesday.
The Eagles totaled 148 points and received six first-place votes to edge out Boston University with 147 points and 10 first-place votes. The 2015 regular season champion, Colgate, checked in at third with 130 points and three first-place votes, while reigning tournament champion Lehigh tallied the last first-place vote for a total of 126 points. Navy rounds out the top five teams with 80 points and was followed by Bucknell and Army West Point tied with 73 points, Holy Cross and Loyola tied with 48 points, and Lafayette (27).
Returning seniors Ethan Kutler (Colgate) and David Asbjornsson (Boston University) will look to pick up right where they left off last season. Named the Patriot League’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year and first team All-League last season, the forward and defender have been selected as the respective preseason award winners for 2016. BU midfielder Anthony Viteri, a first team All-League selection in 2015, garnered the new honor of Preseason Midfielder of the Year.
Asbjornsson and Viteri led the way for Boston U., with four players on the preseason All-League team, and were joined by senior forward Felix De Bona and 2015 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year, senior Matt Gilbert. Kutler was honored on the team along with junior midfielder Jared Stroud and senior defender Zach Tamen. Preseason favorite American also landed three players on the preseason All-League team in senior midfielders Dale Ludwig, Panos Nakhid, and senior defender Jake Garcia, while defender Justin Worley represented Lehigh.
Voting for both the preseason poll and All-Patriot League Team was conducted by the men’s soccer head coaches and sports information directors who were not permitted to vote for their own team or student-athletes.
American (14-5-3, 5-2-2 Patriot League) will look to make its ninth-straight tournament appearance in hopes of winning its third tournament title. The Eagles return five of their eight All-League honorees from last season: Nakhid (first team - 4 G, 2 A), Ludwig (first team - 6 G, 3 A), junior forward Joel Hart (second team - 6 G, 3 A), Garcia (second team), and senior forward Joe Iraola (third team - 3 G, 8 A). In addition, AU returns its leading scorer from last season in junior forward Vinny Barone (7 G, 1 A). A key spot American will have to fill is keeper, after the graduation of netminder Dylan Hobert, who played all but 35 minutes last season and recorded a 0.75 GAA.
Boston University (12-6-2, 6-1-2 PL) fell in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament to American but received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament where the Terriers fell to UConn in the First Round. De Bona (8 G, 2 A) and Viteri (6 G, 2 A) combined for half of BU goals last season, while Asbjornsson and Gilbert (0.96 GAA) return on the opposite end of the field.
Colgate (10-7-2, 7-2-0 PL) will look to 2015 Coach of the Year Erik Ronning for guidance in making its 10th Patriot League Tournament appearance in his 12th year as head coach. After securing the top seed and hosting rights, the Raiders were knocked out of the tournament in the semifinals by eventual champion Lehigh. Kutler, the 2015 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year and the League’s third leading scorer last season, returns for his senior season as does goalkeeper Ricky Brown (0.97 GAA).
Lehigh (13-6-3, 4-3-2 PL) won its second Patriot League title and first since 2000 with a 2-1 victory over American in the championship game in Hamilton, N.Y. Advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history, the Mountain Hawks’ season came to a heartbreaking end with a 2-1 loss in overtime to Hofstra. Lehigh loses the League’s point leader last season, Jamie Luchini (10 G, 9 A), but returns the League’s leading scorer in sophomore Mark Forrest (11 G, 4 A). Familiar faces in Doyle Tuvesson (4 G, 5 A), Danny Gonzalez (1 G, 2 A), Alex Greene (5 G, 5 A), Worley, and Joe Bogan (0.90 GAA) are also back to defend the Mountain Hawks’ tournament crown.
Navy (8-9-1, 4-5-0 PL) welcomes new head coach Tim O’Donohue to Annapolis, after he spent the past five season as the associate head coach at UConn. While junior forward duo of Aubrey Jones (4 G) and Daniel Zaremba (3 G, 2 A) are back at attack, the Midshipmen will have to adjust with the loss of four-time All-League defender Derek Vogel.
Bucknell (7-7-5, 3-3-3 PL) graduated goalkeeping duo in Mike Lansing (1.08 GAA) and Clarke Fox (1.25 GAA) and will look to underclassmen to fill in the net. Graduation also took two key players in midfielder Chris Thorsheim (8 G, 6 A) and forward Jesse Klug (5 G, 7 A), but the Bison will look to Sebastiaan Blickman (6 G, 3 A) to lead the team back to the Patriot League Tournament.
Army West Point (5-8-5, 3-3-3 PL) appeared in the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 6 seed and will look to make another run for the title. While the Black Knights lose 2015 second team All-League defender Cameron Niccum, they return 2015 third team All-League defenders in seniors Tanner Vosvick and Christian Clark.
Holy Cross (6-8-4, 3-4-2 PL) will look for its first Patriot League Tournament appearance since 2008 and returns its top three leading scorers from the 2015 season in senior forward Joey DeVivo (5 G, 2 A), junior F/M Yuji Callahan (3 G, 5 A), and junior midfielder Justin Carfora (3G)
Loyola (2-13-2, 0-8-1 PL) enters the 2016 season with everything to gain and will look to improve upon last year’s Patriot League record with its first-ever nationally ranked incoming recruiting class. The Greyhounds also gain additional experience with Gabriel Carlsson, a transfer from South Florida.
Lafayette (5-8-5, 2-6-1 PL) will enter the 2016 season in hopes of reaching the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2012, bringing back 2015 second team All-League defender Christian Moyse.
Nine of the 10 men’s soccer teams open the season on Friday, including five playing at home in games that will be shown on Patriot League Network. Patriot League play begins on Sept. 23 and continues through Nov. 5. The top six teams in the final regular-season standings will compete in the Patriot League Tournament, which begins with the quarterfinal round on Nov. 8 and continues as the No. 1 seed hosts the semifinals (Nov. 11) and championship (Nov. 13).
Patriot League Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll
1. American, 148 points (6 first-place votes)
2. Boston University, 147 (10)
3. Colgate, 130 (3)
4. Lehigh, 126 (1)
5. Navy, 80
6. Bucknell, 73
6. Army, 73
8. Holy Cross, 48
8. Loyola, 48
10. Lafayette, 27
Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Ethan Kutler, Colgate (Sr., F)
Patriot League Preseason Midfielder of the Year: Anthony Viteri, Boston University (Jr., M)
Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: David Asbjornsson, Boston University (Sr., D)
Men’s Soccer Preseason All-Patriot League Team
Felix De Bona, Boston University (Sr., F)
Ethan Kutler, Colgate (Sr., F)
Dale Ludwig, American (Sr., M)
Panos Nakhid, American (Sr., M)
Anthony Viteri, Boston University (Jr., M)
Jared Stroud, Colgate (Jr., M)
Jake Garcia, American (Sr., D)
David Asbjornsson, Boston University (Sr., D)
Zach Tamen, Colgate (Sr., D)
Justin Worley, Lehigh (Sr., D)
Matt Gilbert, Boston University (Sr., GK)