SPARTANBURG, SC -- The Southern Conference men’s soccer coaches have selected UNC Greensboro to win the 2005 regular season championship. The coaches also selected 12 players to the preseason all-league team, including nine returning all-conference picks from 2004.
The Spartans garnered seven of the eight available first place votes to grab the top spot on the poll. Davidson received the only other first-place vote but tied with Furman for second place in the coaches vote. College of Charleston tallied 34 points to finish in third, while Elon posted 23 points to finish fifth in the voting.
The men’s soccer coaches also announced their preseason all-conference team. UNC Greensboro led the conference for the second straight season by placing five players on the team, including reigning Player of the Year Randi Patterson at forward. Patterson was joined on the preseason team by midfielders Scott Jones and Egill Atlasson along with defender David Worthen and goalkeeper Jay Benfield, who was joined as the top preseason pick between the pipes by Elon’s Taylor Saxe.
Four of the five picks from UNC Greensboro were All-SoCon selections a year ago, with Patterson, Jones and Worthen returning as first-team members from 2004 and Atlasson coming into 2005 a representative from the second team.
Elon may have been tabbed to finish fifth as a team, but the program had the second-most players chosen for the preseason team, with three Phoenix players commandeering the honor. No other team placed more than one player on the team, although three of the four players in John Latting (Davidson), Josh Villalobos (Furman) and Raphael Jones (Appalachian State) are returning all-league picks.
College of Charleston will be the first Southern Conference team to spring into action in the regular season when it takes on Mercer at 7 p.m. Friday, August 26 in Macon, GA. Full action in the conference commences on Thursday, September 1. The first conference game is scheduled for Wednesday, September 28 when Appalachian State travels to Elon to face the Phoenix at 4 p.m.
2005 Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll
1. UNC Greensboro (7) 49
2. Davidson (1) 38
Furman 38
4. College of Charleston 34
5. Elon 23
6. Appalachian State 21
7. Georgia Southern 14
8. Wofford 7
2005 Men’s Soccer Preseason All-League Team
F- Douglas Boateng, Elon
F- Raphael Jones, Appalachian State
F- Jeremy Gold, College of Charleston
F- Randi Patterson, UNC Greensboro
MF- Josh Villalobos, Furman
MF- Scott Jones, UNC Greensboro
MF- Egill Atlasson, UNC Greensboro
D- John Latting, Davidson
D- Junior Nombre, Elon
D- David Worthen, UNC Greensboro
GK- Taylor Saxe, Elon
Jay Benfield, UNC Greensboro