Delaware Favored In CAA Men's Soccer

8/13/2015 12:00:11 PM

Rob Washburn

RICHMOND, Va. (August 13, 2015) – Delaware, which returns seven starters from last year’s team that posted a 13-6-1 overall record and tied for the CAA regular-season title, has been picked to capture the CAA men’s soccer championship in 2015 according to a vote of the league’s men’s soccer coaches.

The Blue Hens claimed the top spot in the poll after receiving five first-place votes and 58 total points. UNCW and Hofstra, which shared the 2014 CAA regular-season crown with Delaware, were picked second and third, respectively. The Seahawks got two first-place votes and had 50 total points, while the Pride garnered 44 points. Defending CAA champion James Madison received a pair of first-place votes and was fourth with 41 points. Elon and Northeastern were tied for fifth with 39 points, while Drexel and William & Mary were tied for seventh with 21 points. College of Charleston (9 points) rounded out the poll.

Headlining the list of returnees for Delaware is junior Guillermo Delgado, who was voted as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year. The two-time All-America honoree led the conference with 12 goals, six game-winning goals and 26 points in 2014 and was selected as the CAA Player of the Year. The Blue Hens also return senior midfielder Joe Dipre (6g, 6a), who made the All-CAA second team, and junior Jaime Martinez (4g, 4a) from an offense that averaged better than two goals per game.

Six starters are back on a UNCW squad that was 13-5-2 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship. Among the returnees for the Seahawks are first-team All-CAA forward Colin Bonner (4g, 4a), CAA All-Rookie defender Brayden Smith (1g, 2a) and junior goalkeeper Sean Melvin (0.95 GAA, 34 svs., 5 ShO).

Hofstra welcomes back nine starters from last year’s 10-6-3 team. Topping that group is junior midfielder Joseph Holland, who received first-team All-CAA accolades after leading the league with nine assists and scoring two goals. Also back for the Pride are first-team All-CAA defender Harri Hawkins and senior goalkeeper Patric Pray (0.95 GAA, 7 ShO).

JMU, which begins its first year under head coach Tom Foley, earned its first CAA championship since 2001 last season after knocking off the top three seeds in the tournament. The Dukes should be strong defensively with the return of senior back Bjarki Aðalsteinsson and junior goalkeeper Kyle Morton (1.12 GAA, 9 ShO), who both made the All-CAA team. Junior Connor Coward (5g, 4a) tied for the team lead in scoring.

Elon led all teams with three players on the preseason All-CAA squad. The Phoenix were represented by senior midfielders James Brace and Miguel Salazar, as well as defender Nathan Diehl. Also making the team was Northeastern sophomore forward Frantzdy Pierrot, who was the 2014 CAA Rookie of the Year after contributing five goals and five assists for the Huskies.

Traditionally regarded as one of the top men’s soccer conferences in the nation, the CAA has had multiple teams compete in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship for the past five years. All nine CAA teams have made at least one NCAA Tournament appearance in the past decade and nine different teams have captured the CAA championship over the past nine years.

2015 CAA MEN’S SOCCER PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1.	Delaware (5 first-place votes)	60
2.	UNCW (2 first-place votes)	50
3.	Hofstra	44
4.	James Madison (2 first-place votes)	41
5.	Elon	39
	Northeastern	39
7.	Drexel	21
	William & Mary	21
9.	College of Charleston	9

(Teams received 8 points for a first-place vote, 7 for second, etc. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.)

2015 MEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON ALL-CAA TEAM
Player, School	Pos.	Cl.	Hometown
Colin Bonner, UNCW	F	Sr.	Fulton, Md.
Guillermo Delgado, Delaware	F	Jr.	Tres Cantos, Spain
Frantzdy Pierrot, Northeastern	F	So.	Port-au-Prince, Haiti
James Brace, Elon	MF	Sr.	Hartlepool, England
Joe Dipre, Delaware	MF	Sr.	Betchworth, England
Joseph Holland, Hofstra	MF	Jr.	London, England
Miguel Salazar, Elon	MF	Sr.	Guanajuato, Mexico
Bjarki Aðalsteinsson, JMU	D	Sr.	Kopavogur, Iceland
Nathan Diehl, Elon	D	Sr.	Birmingham, Ala.
Harri Hawkins, Hofstra	D	Jr.	Cambridge, England
Sean Melvin, UNCW	GK	Jr.	Victoria, British Columbia
Kyle Morton, James Madison	GK	Jr.	West Chester, Pa.
2015 CAA PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Guillermo Delgado, Delaware
Honorable Mention (multiple votes): Jackson Eskay, F/MF, William & Mary; William Eskay, F/MF, William & Mary; Daniel Grundei, D, Hofstra; Nico Rittmeyer, F, College of Charleston; Brayden Smith, D, UNCW