UIC earns top spot in League men's soccer poll
Aug. 23, 2007
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INDIANAPOLIS -- One season removed from its historic run to the top ten in the national polls, the University of Illinois at Chicago men's soccer team enters the 2007 season as the favorite to win the Horizon League championship, according to the results of the League's preseason poll released Thursday (Aug. 23).
The Flames, who captured the regular-season title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship last fall, received eight first-place votes in balloting by the League's nine head coaches for a total of 64 points. The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay received the final first-place nods and finished second with a total of 53 points, just ahead of third-place University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (48). Defending League champion Loyola University Chicago was fourth with 45 points.
Butler University (31) led a tightly-grouped quartet of teams from fifth through eighth place in the voting, edging Cleveland State University (27), the University of Detroit Mercy (25) and Wright State University (23) in the poll. League newcomer Valparaiso University rounded out the field with eight points.
UIC won its first regular-season title since 2000 last fall, compiling a 5-1-1 League ledger as part of a 13-3-5 overall record. The Flames received an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship and defeated Western Illinois University, 3-0, in the first round before falling at the University of Notre Dame, 1-0. The Flames led the nation with a 0.36 goals-against average that ranks sixth in NCAA Division I history and reached the No. 7 spot in the national polls after early-season road victories over perennial power Saint Louis University and eventual national University of California-Santa Barbara.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja (0.37 GAA, ranking fourth in the nation) and senior midfielder Pavle Dundjer lead coach John Trask's crew, which must replace the League's 2006 Player of the Year in Tonci Skroce (seven goals, seven assists). Dundjer could become the first player in League history to earn four First-Team All-League citations after posting eight goals last fall.
Green Bay finished second in the regular-season standings with a 5-2-0 League mark. The Phoenix (14-6-0 overall) reached the title match of the League Championship and boast nine returning starters, including forward Tosaint Ricketts. The junior striker, a member of Canada's Under-20 national squad this past summer, posted eight goals and 17 points as part of the circuit's highest-scoring offense in 2006. Three other players collected four goals apiece for coach Tom Poitras.
Milwaukee hopes to return to the top of the standings after tying for third place last season with a 4-2-1 League mark. The Panthers had won four consecutive League titles before settling for an 8-9-2 overall ledger in coach Jon Coleman's first season as sideline boss. Senior Steve Bode anchors the UWM defense in 2007, while junior forward Colin Baker (four goals in 2006) leads the Panther attack.
Loyola won its first-ever League Championship and made its first NCAA Championship appearance last fall, giving the League two entries in the national summit for the first time since 2001. The Ramblers also went 4-2-1 in League play but rode a surge of momentum in November, ousting UIC in a semifinal, penalty-kick shooutout before edging Green Bay, 1-0, in the League title tilt. Senior forward Keum Sung Kim provided the difference that day with his only goal of the year, although he tied for the League lead with eight assists---many setting up the tandem of sophomores Alex Jones and Michael Ferguson, who combined for 11 goals in 2006 as Loyola compiled an 11-8-2 overall mark for coach Brendan Eitz.
Butler's 7-11-2 overall record included a 2-4-1 League mark in 2006. The Bulldogs proved to be a dangerous foe, however, defeating Milwaukee, 2-1, for the only first-round upset (by seed) in the League Championship last fall. BU also handed UIC its lone League loss with a 1-0 verdict in Indianapolis on Oct. 15. Junior forward Frank Patano provides the main scoring threat for this year's squad after hitting the net seven times with three assists in 2006, while junior forward Eduardo Garcia added three goals and two helpers.
Cleveland State recorded the largest one-year improvement in Division I, finishing 6-10-2 overall (3-4-0 in the League) during Ali Kazemaini's first year on the Viking sideline. Forwards George Kephart and Marco DiFranco both earned spots on the League's All-Newcomer Team as freshmen in 2006 with Kephart's five goals and two assists also earning Second-Team All-League acclaim. Junior forward Nenad Stojkovic also had three goals and set up four Viking strikes.
Detroit finished with a 6-9-3 record last fall, placing seventh in the regular-season loop standings at 2-5-0. Junior forward Mark Djurovski (seven goals, two assists) leads the Titan attack, although Detroit must replace two-time First-Team All-League pick Jason Massoglia (seven goals, four helpers) as well as veteran goalkeeper Sasha Boskovic (five shutouts).
Wright State endured a string of setbacks during an 8-9-1 campaign that featured a 1-6-0 League standard. Forward Braden Fleak provided several highlights as a freshman, finishing second in the League with 13 goals and 29 points to win the League's Newcomer of the Year award. He is joined by senior midfielder Tony Labudovski, who scored nine goals as a First-Team All-League pick in 2005 but missed most of last season due to injury. Sophomore Adam Harp (six goals) and junior forward Adam Grossman (four goals, five assists) round out an explosive Raider attack.
Valparaiso registered a 7-10-2 record in 2006, its final season as a member of the Mid-Continent Conference. First-year coach Mike Avery has only two seniors on this year's roster and will rely on junior midfielder Paul Leitelt and sophomore Steve Shively (four goals apiece) to provide veteran leadership. Crusader goalkeeper Ryan Schwarz set a school freshman record with four shutouts last fall.
The Horizon League season opens Friday, Aug. 31, with eight of the nine teams in action, while UIC makes its 2007 debut at home on Sunday, Sept. 2. Valparaiso and Loyola kick off League play on Sunday, Sept. 16, at Toyota Park---home of the MLS's Chicago Fire.
This year's League Championship features a new format. The loop summit begins Friday, Nov. 9, when the fourth through sixth seeds host seeds 7-9. Play continues with second-round action on Nov. 11, with the No. 3 seed hosting the 6/7 winner and the higher-seeded team hosting a battle between the other first-round winners. The top two teams receive byes through the opening weekend, with the top seed hosting the semifinals (Friday, Nov. 16) and championship match (Sunday, Nov. 18) and the survivor earning an automatic ticket to the NCAA Championship.
2007 Horizon League Preseason Men's Soccer Poll 1. UIC (8 first-place votes), 64 points2. Green Bay (1), 53 points3. Milwaukee, 48 points4. Loyola, 45 points5. Butler, 31 points6. Cleveland State, 27 points7. Detroit, 25 points8. Wright State, 23 points9. Valparaiso, 8 points
NOTE: The League's nine head coaches vote in this poll. Teams received eight points for a first-place vote, seven points for a second-place vote, etc. The head coaches were not allowed to vote for their own squads.
