August 1, 2002

PROVIDENCE, RI - On Thursday, Aug. 1 the BIG EAST Conference announced the 2002 Men's Soccer Preseason Poll and Awards. Virginia Tech received 55 points in a vote by the league's 13 head coaches and was selected to finish ninth overall.

Preseason Poll

2002 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
(first place votes in parentheses)

Rank	Team	Points
1.	Connecticut (8)	139
2.	St. John's (4)	132
3.	Notre Dame	119
4.	Rutgers (1)	116
5.	Boston College	99
6.	Seton Hall	85
7.	Syracuse	79
8.	Gerogetown	73
9.	Virginia Tech	55
10.	Pittsburgh	37
11.	West Virginia	35
12.	Villanova	30
13.	Providence	15
( ) denotes first place votes

 

The Hokies, under the direction of first year head coach Oliver Weiss, enter their second season in the BIG EAST and look to build on a 4-4-2 finish in conference play last season. The Hokies open the 2002 season at Old Dominion on Friday, Aug. 30. The team's BIG EAST opener will be on Saturday, Sept. 14, against 2001 NCAA College Cup national semifinalist, St. John's.

For the third straight year, the University of Connecticut has been chosen to capture the BIG EAST men's soccer regular season title. UConn, the defending regular season champion with a 9-1 conference record, earned 139 points in the poll and received eight first-place votes. The Huskies compiled a 15-5-2 record in 2001 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship under six-year head coach Ray Reid.

St. John's took four first-place votes to finish second in the preseason poll, followed by Notre Dame to take the third position, under second-year head coach Bobby Clark. Rutgers', earning one first-place vote, finished fourth chased by Boston College, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Villanova and Providence.

Each team will play a 10-game conference schedule. The top eight teams based on regular season records will qualify for the BIG EAST Championship.

PRESEASON AWARDS
Offensive Player of the Year
Casey Schmidt, Sr., Boston College
Defensive Player of the Year
Chris Wingert, Jr., St. John's
Goalkeeper of the Year
Chris Sawyer, So., Notre Dame

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST TEAM
Guy Abrahamson, Sr., B, Rutgers
Erich Braun, Sr., F, Notre Dame
Anthony Curtis, Sr., M, Connecticut
Justin Deeter, Jr., M, Notre Dame
Sherif El Bialy, Sr., F, Rutgers
Kirk Johnson, Jr., F, Syracuse
Ryan McGowan, Jr., M, Seton Hall
Guy Melamed, So., B, Boston College
Chris Sawyer, So., GK, Notre Dame
Casey Schmidt, Sr., F, Boston College
*Chris Wingert, Jr., B, St. John's
* unanimous selection