Guilford Ranked ODAC Preseason Soccer Polls
Greensboro, N.C.(8/27/09) -- Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) soccer coaches picked Guilford College's women's team fifth and the Quakers' men ninth in their annual preseason polls Thursday. Defending league champion Lynchburg College owns the top spot in the 12-squad women's poll by eight points over Virginia Wesleyan College. Roanoke College, the runner-up in the 2008 regular-season ODAC standing, is first in the 11-team men's rankings by five points over 2008 league-tournament champion Virginia Wesleyan.
Guilford's women received 83 points in the poll. In his eighth year, head coach Eric Lewis returns 15 letter winners from last year's 8-12 club, including junior forward Jada Daniel. Daniel captured Second Team All-ODAC and Third Team All-South Region honors last year after scoring a career-high 14 points on a team-best four goals and six assists. The Quakers, who went 6-5 in league matches last year, open the 2009 season against Meredith College next Tuesday (9/1) in Raleigh. Guilford's home opener is Sept. 9 versus Greensboro College at 7:00 p.m.
Jeff Bateson enters his fourth year as Guilford’s head men’s soccer coach after a 4-12-1 season (3-6-1 ODAC) in 2008. He returns 13 letter winners from a year ago and looks to sophomore Jordan Alexander for offensive leadership. The starting midfielder led the Quakers in 2008 with eight goals and one assist for 17 points. Another important piece of the Guilford puzzle is sophomore goalkeeper Peter Truitt. The Quakers compete with Cape Fear Community College tonight in a preseason scrimmage before opening the 2009 season versus North Carolina Wesleyan College at home on September 1.
2009 ODAC Soccer Preseason Coaches Polls
Men's Poll |
Women's Poll |
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| (First-place votes in parentheses) 1. Roanoke (5) 2. Virginia Wesleyan (3) 3. Lynchburg (2) 4. Hampden-Sydney 5. Washington and Lee 6. Eastern Mennonite 7. Randolph 8. Randolph-Macon 9. Guilford 10. Emory & Henry 11. Bridgewater |
112 107 105 94 68 60 55 46 38 23 18 |
(First-place votes in parentheses) |
140 132 121 111 83 82 70 69 55 27 24 22 |
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