Norwich University Men’s Soccer Picked #1 in GNAC Preseason

Courtesy: GNAC Communications/Norwich Athletics            

Boston, Mass. - The Norwich Cadets earned the number one spot in the 2008 Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's soccer coaches' preseason poll.  The Cadets earned seven first place votes for a total of 79 points to put themselves just ahead of Johnson & Wales and Lasell.

Norwich finished last season with a 19-3-1 record, GNAC regular season champions, and winners of the ECAC New England Championship. After losing only three seniors to graduation (Peter Andrews, Jake Pagragan and David Strojny), Norwich returns the majority of it's starting lineup from a team which finished last season ranked third in New England by D3Kicks.com and seventh in New England by the NSCAA.

Norwich will be led by its strong senior class, including three All-New England players in Drew Dilley (Lancaster, PA), Jason Grupp (Highland Mills, NY) and Rob Harlow (West Springfield, MA). The senior class also includes two-time All-GNAC defender Kyle Przekaza (Northfield, VT). Ryan Boyton (Dunedin, FL) will begin his senior year looking to increase his goal tally from last season, and improve upon his All-GNAC selection. Speedster Jason Bliss (St. Albans, VT) and goalkeeper Brian Riopelle (Metheun, MA) round out the senior class. The sophomore and junior classes will be led by two-time All-GNAC junior Jake Yaris (Raymond, NH) and reigning GNAC "Rookie of the Year" Emmanuel Motaze (Cameroon).

The Johnson & Wales Wildcats (14-5-3) finished a close second in the preseason polls. The Wildcats finished the 2007 season as GNAC tournament champions and have been at the top of the pack for the past several years. The third pick was Lasell College and the fourth pick goes to Suffolk Unviersity.