DePaul University Athletics
BIG EAST Coaches Announce Preseason Picks
8/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
Aug. 10, 2011
PROVIDENCE, R.I.- Louisville was selected as the BIG EAST Red Division favorite, while Connecticut was chosen to win the BIG EAST Blue Division in the 2011 BIG EAST Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll.
DePaul was picked to finish seventh in the Red Division, and junior Antonio Aguilar was chosen for the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
Louisville and Connecticut advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2010 with the Cardinals reaching the national title game.
The votes were cast by the league's 16 head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own team or players.
Connecticut's Tony Cascio, a senior midfielder, and Louisville's Colin Rolfe, a senior forward, were both selected as BIG EAST Preseason Co-Offensive Players of the Year and earned unanimous selections to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Two other players from Louisville also earned preseason recognition as Austin Berry was selected BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and Andre Boudreaux was chosen as BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
Aguilar was All-BIG EAST Second Team in 2010 after scoring five goals and dishing out two assists for 12 points.
"Tony is recognized by BIG EAST coaches for his tremendous talent," said DePaul coach Craig Blazer. "He has evolved into a more dynamic player both offensively and defensively.
"He has brought a tremendous work ethic into this season and has set the bar high. We're not surprised by anything he accomplishes."
In the Red Division, Louisville (120 points) was selected as the unanimous favorite to win the divisional crown. The Cardinals were undefeated last season until the title game of the NCAA Championship, which they lost by one goal. Louisville finished the season 20-1-3 overall and 9-0-0 in conference action.
Rolfe returns for his senior season after recording nine points in conference play in 2010 with three goals and three assists. He was the second runner-up for the Hermann Trophy, earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team and was chosen as an All-American. Senior defender Austin Berry was an NSCAA All-American last season and picked to the 2011 All-BIG EAST Preseason Team, along with Boudreaux, the 2010 BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
In the Blue Division, Connecticut is the preseason favorite with 110 points. The Huskies earned a bye in the first round of the NCAA Championship, hosting a second-round game against Brown, in which Brown advanced in penalty kicks. Connecticut posted a 12-2-6 overall record, with a 5-1-3 mark in BIG EAST play.
The Huskies are led by Cascio, who earned NSCAA First Team All-American honors last year and was the BIG EAST Player of the Year. In nine conference games, he recorded 16 points on seven goals and two assists. Sophomore defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste started all 20 games for the Huskies last year and was named to the Preseason All-Conference team, along with junior forward Carlos Alvarez, who was second on the team with 22 points and had a team-high 14 assists.
USF received 98 points to finish second in the preseason poll in the Red Division. In 2010, the Bulls captured the fifth seed in the Red Division after a 4-3-2 conference season. USF earned a spot in the NCAA Championship and finished the season with a 9-5-4 overall record.
With 93 points, St. John's followed the Bulls closely, selected as to finish third in the Red Division. The Red Storm finished 2010 with a 10-6-2 overall record and went 4-3-2 in league play, earning the third seed in their division. St. John's, which earned the Team Fair Play Award last season, was upset in the BIG EAST Championship First Round.
Notre Dame's 102 points were a close second in the Blue Division to Connecticut. The Fighting Irish, who received two first-place votes, finished the season 10-6-4 overall with a 6-2-1 record in the BIG EAST.
Notre Dame hosted a second-round game in the NCAA Championship. Last season, the Irish captured the second seed in the division and advanced to the semifinals. Dillon Powers had 12 points on four goals and four assists, starting in all 20 games last season. Powers earned Preseason All-Conference honors along with Aaron Maund, who also started in all 20 games.
West Virginia received three first-place votes and was selected to finish third in the Blue Division with 89 points. The Mountaineers, who were 11-8-2 overall and 5-4-0 in the BIG EAST, earned the fourth seed in the Blue Division in 2010. They fell to eventual BIG EAST Tournament champion Louisville in the quarterfinals. WVU defeated Xavier 4-2 in the NCAA Championship first round, but fell to eventual national champion Akron 3-2 in the second round.
Highlighting the returners is Preseason All-Conference selection Raymon Gaddis, a senior defender who played in all 21 games in 2010, recording five assists.
Georgetown, which had one first-place vote, was only one point behind with 88, chosen to finish fourth in the Blue Division. In 2010, the Hoyas won the Blue Division with a conference record of 7-2-0 and an overall mark of 12-6-2. The Hoyas defeated UNC Greensboro in the first round of the NCAA Championship 3-0 before battling to a scoreless draw in the second round against North Carolina. The Tar Heels advanced on penalty kicks, 5-4.
During the season, Georgetown posted a nine-game winning streak, the second-longest in program history. The Hoyas finished the season ranked 23rd in the nation in scoring offense (1.90 goals per game). Sophomore Steve Neumann, a Preseason All-Conference selection along with junior midfielder Ian Christianson, led the Hoyas last season, recording a team-high 28 points on 10 goals and eight assists. Christianson was second on the team with 17 points on five goals and seven assists.
The 2011 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship is a 12-team single-elimination tournament. The top six teams in each division, seeded by Conference point total, qualify for the conference championship.
First-round games will be held at campus sites on Nov. 2, with the quarterfinals following on Nov. 5. For the second-straight year, Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. will serve as host for the semifinals (Nov. 11) and championship (Nov. 13).
Updated ticket and television information can be found on bigeastsoccer.com as well as on Championship Central at bigeast.org. The tournament champion receives the league's automatic berth into the 48-team NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
2011 BIG EAST MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
| Blue Division | Points | 2010 Overall | 2010 BIG EAST | 2010 BIG EAST Regular Season Finish |
| 1. Connecticut (10) | 110 | 12-2-6 | 5-1-3 | 3rd |
| 2. Notre Dame (2) | 102 | 10-6-4 | 6-2-1 | 2nd |
| 3. West Virginia (3) | 89 | 11-8-2 | 5-4-0 | 4th |
| 4. Georgetown (1) | 88 | 12-6-2 | 7-2-0 | 1st |
| 5. Providence | 67 | 13-6-3 | 4-4-1 | 5th |
| 6. Marquette | 53 | 7-8-4 | 3-4-2 | 6th |
| 7. Seton Hall | 35 | 3-13-1 | 1-8-0 | 8th |
| 8. Pittsburgh | 24 | 6-9-2 | 1-6-2 | 7th |
| Red Division | Points | Overall | 2010 BIG EAST | 2010 BIG EAST Regular Season Finish |
| 1. Louisville (15) | 120 | 20-1-3 | 9-0-0 | 1st |
| 2. USF (1) | 98 | 9-6-4 | 4-3-2 | T-3rd |
| 3. St. John's | 93 | 10-6-2 | 4-3-2 | T-3rd |
| 4. Villanova | 73 | 8-8-3 | 4-3-2 | T-3rd |
| 5. Cincinnati | 70 | 7-5-7 | 5-1-3 | 2nd |
| 6. Rutgers | 45 | 4-11-1 | 1-8-0 | T-7th |
| 7. DePaul | 40 | 4-10-5 | 1-5-3 | 6th |
| 8. Syracuse | 29 | 2-10-5 | 0-6-3 | T-7th |
2011 BIG EAST PRESEASON AWARD WINNERS
Preseason Co-Offensive Players of the Year
Colin Rolfe, Louisville
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team^
B Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Connecticut
B Austin Berry, Louisville
B Aaron Maund, Notre Dame
B Raymon Gaddis, West Virginia
MF Carlos Alvarez, Connecticut
MF Ian Christianson, Georgetown
MF Dillon Powers, Notre Dame
F Tony Cascio, Connecticut*
F Antonio Aguilar, DePaul
F Steve Neumann, Georgetown
F Colin Rolfe, Louisville*
*unanimous selection
^ extra member added due to voting ties
