University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Soccer Picked 7th in Big South Preseason Poll
08.24.2010 | Men's Soccer
High Point, who looks to win its first-ever Big South championship, received four first-place votes and 73 out of a possible 81 points in the voting and finished ahead of Coastal Carolina and Winthrop, which each totaled two top votes and 68 points from the panel. The Panthers, led by fourth-year head coach and 2009 Big South Coach of the Year Dustin Fonder, posted its best finish in HPU's Division I history with a 9-7-2 overall mark in 2009. The Panthers also posted their best-ever League record with a 5-1-2 mark and second-place finish in the League, their highest in their 11-year history in the Big South.
Liberty came in at the No. 4 slot with one top-nod and 50 points, followed by Radford with 42 points. At the sixth position was Gardner-Webb with 32 points and in seventh was UNC Asheville with 30 points. Presbyterian College was picked to finish at No. 8 with 23 points and VMI rounded out the voting with 19 points.
The Bulldogs finished in sixth place last season. Asheville had an overall record of 6-12-2 with a 2-5-1 mark in league matches. Four of the Bulldogs five league losses came by one goal.
"We hope to finish higher than in seventh place this year," commented first year coach Matt Kern. "However, our league is very good and there's tremendous balance from top to bottom. I believe you will see a lot of close matches this season across the board."
