BOSTON? In one of the closest preseason polls in recent history, Vermont was picked as the preseason favorite to win the men's soccer conference championship in 2006, according to a vote of the head coaches. The Catamounts received two first-place votes (coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team) and 54 points overall to edge Boston University, who had four first-place votes and 53 points.
Stony Brook University, winner of the 2005 America East championship, ranked third and collected three first-place votes, 49 points in all. Binghamton University was fourth, just one point behind Stony Brook at 48.
UMBC (38 points) and University at Albany (31) were fifth and sixth respectively, while University of New Hampshire (27), University of Hartford (13), and University of Maine (11) rounded out the nine-team poll.
The top six teams in the conference will advance to the America East Championship with the winner of the tournament receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup.
The Catamounts (11-5-3, 4-3-1 America East in 2005), who were picked sixth in last year's preseason poll, finished fourth and were eliminated by Albany on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals a year ago. Vermont returns 15 letterwinners and seven starters from last season’s club that earned a national ranking for six out of nine weeks in the regular season. The Catamounts will be on the young side with freshmen or sophomores making up 17 of the 25 players on the roster. Vermont's freshmen made their mark in 2005 as they had three players on the all-rookie team, including Lee Stephane Kouadio, who was America East's Rookie and Striker of the Year. Kouadio was also the only freshman named a first-team all-conference selection.
Coming up just a point shy of its second-straight top preseason billing, Boston University (6-8-4, 2-3-3) earned a league-high four first-place votes. The Terriers return 15 letterwinners from 2005, while welcoming 10 newcomers. In addition, six players (four starters) return from the 2004 NCAA second-round team. In 2005, Boston University was eliminated by Binghamton on penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation and two scoreless overtimes. Among top returners are second-team defender Zach Kirby and all-rookie midfielder Neil Hlavaty.
Stony Brook (13-5-4, 6-1-3) earned both the America East regular season and tournament championships in 2005. The tournament win gave the Seawolves a trip to the NCAA College Cup. In their first-round game, Stony Brook earned the first NCAA Division I win in any sport in the school’s history with a 2-1 overtime victory over Yale. The Seawolves finished with an RPI ranking of 45 out of 199 NCAA Division I schools, the highest ranking ever for the program. Stony Brook will look to first-team all-conference midfielder Michael Palacio and second-team defender Yahaya Musa to help the team defend its crown in 2006.
Despite the loss of four-time first-team all-conference defender Graham Munro, Binghamton (12-4-5, 4-2-2) looks to return to the postseason for the fourth-straight time in 2006. The Bearcats have advanced to the conference championship in each of the past three seasons, including winning a title in 2003. Helping Binghamton in its quest to return to the playoffs will be all-rookie defender Barry Neville.
Reigning America East Coach of the Year, UMBC's Pete Caringi enters his 25th year of coaching college soccer. In 24 previous years, Caringi’s teams have finished at .500 or better 23 times, including a current streak of eight straight. The Retrievers look to continue this streak in 2006, but will have their work cut out for them as they return only eight players. The 2005 squad (9-7-3, 6-2-0) held or were tied for the conference lead from day one of league play until they were edged, 3-2, in overtime, by eventual league champion Stony Brook on the final day of the regular season. The Retrievers finished second and earned a trip to the post-season for the 10th time in 11 years. UMBC returns second-team midfielder Kevin Mezzadra and a pair of all-rookie team honorees.
Albany (6-9-4, 3-4-1) returns 18 players that saw action in 2005. Among top returners are second-team all-conference selections Stephan Hall and Yan Gbolo. The pair combined for 10 goals and eight assists last season. The Great Danes also return a pair of all-rookie selections in their quest for a third-straight trip to the postseason.
New Hampshire (9-5-3, 2-4-2) was ranked as high as 23rd nationally in 2005. The Wildcats finished fourth in the nation in goals against average (0.57) and return 19 players from a team that set a school record with ten shutouts last year. Anchoring the defensive-minded Wildcats in 2006 will be 2005 Goalkeeper of the Year Brian Levey, who played every second of every game last year for New Hampshire, and second-team defender John Bergqvist.
Hartford (5-9-3, 2-4-2), who narrowly missed out on a postseason berth in 2005, look to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2003. The Hawks return all-rookie team defender Peter Ortega and have brought in 11 new players to compete for a spot on the 2006 squad.
Maine (2-11-2, 0-6-2) led by head coach Travers Evans, who is entering his seventh season at the helm. The team returns five staters from last season and will be welcoming eight freshmen and three transfers to the squad. The Black Bears top returner is Cooper Friend, who was a second-team defender in 2006.