ERAU Men’s Soccer Ranked Fifth in Preseason Poll
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – After closing out the 2009 season as one of the top eight teams in the nation, the Embry-Riddle men’s soccer team enters the 2010 campaign as the fifth-ranked team in the country according to the preseason poll released by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics on Tuesday.
The Eagles turned in a 7-0-2 mark in league play and their seventh regular season title gave the Eagles the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The Blue and Gold had tough battles in the semifinal and championship games and in the end they were able to pull out a pair of penalty shootout wins to advance to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
As one of 14 Opening Round hosts, the Eagles welcomed Mobile to the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium and thanks to a pair of late goals by Ryan Maloney, ERAU downed the Rams 2-0 to move on the Round of 16 in Fresno, Calif. The Eagles easily dispatched host Fresno Pacific, but suffered a tough 1-0 decision against Simon Fraser to close out the season at 14-4-4 overall.
The Eagles totaled 465 points in the poll voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups, moving from 18th in the final poll of 2009 to fifth. Defending national champion Lindsey Wilson (560) tops the preseason poll, while The Master's (538), Simon Fraser (518) and Rio Grande (514) round out the top five.