Men's Soccer Picked Fourth in UAA Preseason Coaches' Poll
UAA PRESEASON POLL
St. Louis, Mo., August 17, 2011 – The Washington University in St. Louis men’s soccer team was picked to finish fourth in the 2011 University Athletic Association (UAA) preseason coaches’ poll, it was announced Wednesday by the association.
The Bears picked up a pair of first-place votes to land fourth in the poll. Defending conference champion New York University received five first-place nods to lead the eight-team league, with Emory University slated to finish second and the University of Rochester receiving the other first-place vote to place third.
Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Chicago, Case Western Reserve University and Brandeis University rounded out the coaches’ prognostication.
Washington University posted a 4-1-2 record in the UAA last season, finishing in second place behind New York. The Bears posted a 14-1-5 overall record in 2010 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Loras College in penalty kicks.
Washington U. returns six starters and 28 letterwinners from last year’s squad including its top six scorers from 2010. Senior Patrick McLean led the Bears with six goals and 15 points last year while senior Cody Costakis tallied a team-high six assists to go along with four goals.
McLean, Costakis and sophomore defender Nik Patel were each All-UAA honorees last year, with Patel helping anchor a defensive unit that yielded just nine goals all year while recording 12 shutouts. Washington U. ranked sixth in Division III with a 0.42 team goals against average.
The Bears also welcome back junior Kenji Kobayashi (five goals), junior Zachary Query (three goals, three assists), senior Kevin Privalle (three goals, three assists) and sophomore Michael Flowers (two goals, four assists).
Sophomore Jonathan Jebson is expected to contend for the starting job in goal after splitting time with Andrew Serio last year. Jebson turned in an impressive freshman campaign, ranking fifth in Division III in goals against average (.343) and save percentage (0.90) while giving up just four goals all year.
Washington University opens the 2011 season against Webster University on Thursday, Sept. 1, in St. Louis, Mo., at 7 p.m.