Puget Sound is Picked to Unseat Linfield in 2004
| NWC Men's Soccer Coaches' Pre-Season Poll: |
2003 records |
| School |
(1st) |
Pts. |
All |
NWC |
| 1. Puget Sound (Wash.) |
(5) |
66 |
13-3-3 |
10-1-3 |
| 2. Whitworth (Wash.) |
(1) |
54 |
12-5-1 |
9-4-1 |
| 3. Linfield (Ore.) |
(2) |
47 |
16-3-1 |
11-2-1 |
| 4. Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) |
|
45 |
11-7-2 |
7-5-2 |
| 5. Willamette (Ore.) |
|
31 |
8-8-3 |
7-6-1 |
| 6-tie. Pacific (Ore.) |
|
20 |
6-12 |
3-11 |
| 6-tie. Whitman (Wash.) |
|
20 |
6-13 |
2-12 |
| 8. George Fox (Ore.) |
|
13 |
5-12-2 |
2-10-2 |
(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis).
Led by the returning Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year, the University of Puget Sound is a strong favorite to unseat defending champion Linfield College and claim the NWC men's soccer title this season, according to a preseason poll of conference coaches. The Loggers, who were edged by the Wildcats in the 2003 final standings by a single point, claimed five first place votes and 66 total points. UPS was followed in the poll by Whitworth College and Linfield.
Senior forward Tyler Niemack, the defending Offensive Player of the Year in the NWC, will lead Puget Sound in 2004. The Logger, who finished 13-3-3 overall and 10-1-3 (33 points) in the NWC, will also welcome back First Team All-NWC midfielder Anthony Fioretti.
Whitworth finished second in the poll with 54 points and one first place vote. The Pirates were third in the final NWC standings last fall with an overall record of 12-5-1 and an NWC mark of 9-4-1. Whitworth welcomes back a pair of First Team All-NWC players in senior midfielder Brad Suhm and junior defender Todd Sabrowski.
Linfield, which finished 16-3-1 overall (11-2-1 NWC, 34 points) last season and lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to UC Santa Cruz, must replace three graduated First Team All-NWC players. Senior midfielder Aleko Lilly was a Second Team choice in 2003 and will return, however. The Wildcats are third in the poll with two first place votes and 47 total points.
Only two points separated third from fourth place in the poll. Pacific Lutheran University surprised many by finishing fourth in the final conference standings last fall with records of 11-7-2 and 7-5-2. The Lutes hope to continue their climb behind All-NWC midfielder Jay Pettit.
Willamette University finished fifth in the poll with 31 points. The Bearcats (8-8-3 overall, 7-6-1 NWC in 2003) must replace graduated Ben DeSanno and Adam Moshofsky, who scored nine goals apiece last fall and were named First Team All-NWC.
Pacific University and Whitman College tied for sixth in the poll with 20 points. Both the Boxers (6-12, 3-11) and Missionaries (6-13, 2-12) graduated their All-NWC selections from a year ago.
George Fox University (13 points) round out the poll in eighth place. George Fox was 5-12-2 and 2-10-2.
The season gets underway on September 1st.