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Clemson Picked Sixth in Preseason Men’s Soccer Poll

Clemson Picked Sixth in Preseason Men’s Soccer Poll

Aug. 13, 2007

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Duke men’s soccer program was named the 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference preseason favorite, as determined by a vote of the league’s nine head coaches.

The Blue Devils finished the 2006 season with an 18-4-1 record, their best since 1999, reached the NCAA Elite Eight for the second time in three years, won the ACC Tournament for the second year in a row, and earned the ACC regular season title. The program, which was listed at No. 2 in the upcoming season’s College Soccer News Preseason Top-30 poll, returns 10 of 11 starters and 15 letterwinners from its 2006 ACC Champion and Elite Eight squad.

Wake Forest and Virginia wrap up the top three selections as the Demon Deacons were picked to finish second with 66 points. Wake Forest, led by 2006 ACC Coach of the Year Jay Vidovich, returns nine of 11 starters from a team that tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the first time in school history. Also coming off a 2006 NCAA semifinal appearance for the ninth time in Cavalier history, Virginia, the No. 3 preseason pick, welcomes back six starters and 15 letterwinners, including second-team All-ACC and 2007 MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Yannick Reyering.

North Carolina and Maryland are the coaches’ picks to finish fourth and fifth, respectively. The Tar Heels, led by Andre Sherard, will look to replace seven starters, yet return four of their eight top scorers from a year ago. The 2005 NCAA Champion Terrapins finished the 2006 season 16-5-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the Terps set a school record in attendance with over 40,000 people last season. The 40,907 fans was the second highest total in the NCAA and the Terps’ average attendance of 2,727 ranked third in the country.

Completing the preseason poll in order of projected finish is Clemson (35), Virginia Tech (24), Boston College (24), and NC State (17). Below is a listing of the preseason coaches’ poll with the programs’ respective 2006 records.

Clemson will have an exhibition match with UNC-Greensboro this Saturday night at Historic Riggs Field at 7:00 p.m.

2007 Preseason ACC Men’s Soccer PollSchool – Points, 2006 Record 1. Duke – 78, 18-4-1 (5-2-1 ACC) 2. Wake Forest – 66, 18-3-4 (5-2-1 ACC) 3. Virginia – 59, 17-4-1 (5-3-0 ACC) 4. North Carolina – 52, 11-6-3 (3-4-1 ACC) 5. Maryland – 50, 16-5-1 (4-3-1 ACC)6. Clemson – 35, 13-5-2 (3-3-2 ACC) T7. Boston College – 24, 8-7-2 (3-3-2 ACC) T7. Virginia Tech – 24, 11-8-1 (2-5-1 ACC) 9. NC State – 17, 6-10-1 (1-6-1 ACC)

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