Limestone Selected Preseason Favorite by Men’s Soccer Coaches
High Point, NC> The Limestone College
men’s soccer team has been voted as the preseason favorites
to capture the program’s first ever Conference Carolinas
Regular Season Championship. The Saints have narrowly missed a
share of the regular season title in each of the past two seasons,
falling short of Lees-McRae by a single point in the final
standings on each occasion.
LC returns 10 veterans from the 2010 squad that finished 11-6-1
overall and 7-2 in league play, including a pair of All-Conference
selections in senior Mike Stephenson and sophomore Jack Bailey.
Although the 2010 season ended abruptly on penalty kicks in the
first round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament, the Saints
boasted one of the nation’s top offenses last season as they
ranked eighth with 2.72 goals per match. On the season, Limestone
outscored opponents 49-26 but was especially dominant at home as
they outpaced visitors 26-4 in the scoring column.
Entering the 2011 campaign, the Blue and Gold will have only
four upperclassmen returning from a season ago. However, the Saints
will look to five junior transfers with high levels of collegiate
experience to fill the void while also depending on a very seasoned
and talented sophomore class. Additionally, Limestone’s
freshmen class features a bevy of domestic and international
talent.
“We are very pleased to receive such high recognition from
our fellow league members” said head coach Eric Alsop.
“I believe it will be a challenging season and nothing will
come easy as we’ll have a huge target on our back all year.
However, I know that the boys will be up to the challenge. We know
that if we want to live up to this distinction we will have to earn
every inch. But we relish the challenge and will attack the
conference head on”.
Lees-McRae College finds themselves under new
leadership once again this season, with three-time All-American Lee
Squires taking the reins after leading the Bobcats to four
consecutive league titles as a player. The Bobcats are coming off
from last year’s Conference Carolinas Championship title
along with their fourth straight regular season title ending the
year at 13-5-3 overall and 7-1-1 in league play.
Lees-McRae is certain to feature several new faces on the
pitch, welcoming 15 newcomers into the fold while returning seven
players from last year’s squad. Seniors David Palmer, Luke
Duffy, and Luke Staats return to guide the Bobcats into a new era
from the second spot in the preseason poll.
"Obviously it is nice to be recognized by the other teams in our
conference and it shows the success we have had in recent
times,” said Squires. “However, each team
improves year after year and it is such a competitive conference so
it will be difficult, but our aim is always to be at the top at the
end of the season."
Coker College returns a large portion of
last season’s Conference Carolinas Tournament Finals team,
including Second Team All-Conference and All-Tournament selection
Rommel Fondin and All-Tournament selection James Sweeney. The
Cobras will be looking to make a third straight appearance in the
Conference Carolinas Tournament Finale after finishing the 2010
season with a record of 7-7-5 overall and 3-4-2 league record.
A young squad, the Cobras are led by juniors Fondin and Sweeney.
Fondin returns to the lead the offense and Sweeney will lead the
defense. Fondin was the team’s second leading scorer with
four goals and two assists for 10 points last season, while Sweeney
led the defense as the starting goalkeeper recording 69 saves with
six shutouts.
Erskine finished fourth in the poll with
Belmont Abbey fifth followed by Pfeiffer,
Queens, King, Barton, Mount Olive, and North Greenville
respectively rounding-out the poll standings.
Conference
Carolinas Men’s Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll
(# of First Place Votes in Parenthesis)
-
Limestone....……………………………………………………………………
(6) 94
- Lees
McRae...……………………………………………………………………
(4) 87
- Coker…………
……………………………………………………………………
72
- Erskine
……………………………………………………………………………
(1) 69
- Belmont
Abbey……………………………………………………………………
67
-
Pfeiffer……………………………………………………………………………
62
-
Queens………………………………………………………………………………
49
-
King…………………………………………………………………………………
45
-
Barton………………………………………………………………………………
27
- Mount
Olive…………………………………………………………………………… 18
- North
Greenville……………………………………………………………………… 15