College Soccer News – Guilford Ranked in Preseason ODAC Polls

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) soccer coaches picked Guilford College’s women’s team seventh and the Quakers’ men eighth in their annual preseason polls, released Tuesday. Defending league champion Lynchburg College owns the top spot in the women’s poll, while Randolph College was picked to repeat as champions by a single point over Roanoke College.

Guilford’s women received 74 points in the poll. Now in his 11th year, head coach Eric Lewis returns 13 letter winners from last year’s 10-8-2 club. Among those returning are sophomore Hannah Schiltz (Ashland, Mo. /Southern Boone), who led the Quakers in points with 10 goals, and senior Jaclyn Nucci (Gambrills, Md. /South River (Anne Arundel C.C.)), who contributed six goals and four assists in 2011. The Quakers, who went 5-4-2 in league play last year, open the 2012 season in the Meredith Labor Day Classic Saturday (9/1) versus Berry College.

Jeff Bateson enters his seventh season as Guilford’s head men’s soccer coach after a 6-9-2 season (3-7 ODAC) in 2011. He returns 20 letter winners from a year ago and looks to senior Freddy Gomez (Valparaiso, Chile/Williams (N.C.)) for offensive leadership. Gomez, a First Team All-ODAC pick in 2011, led the Quakers and finished second in the ODAC in goals (11) and points (23). The Quakers open the season this Friday night at home against crosstown-rival Greensboro College at 7:00 p.m.

   2012 ODAC Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll             2012 ODAC Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Poll
                             (First-place votes in parentheses)
   1. Randolph                  115 (7)             1. Lynchburg                   144 (12)
   2. Roanoke                   114 (5)             2. Virginia Wesleyan           130 (1)
   3. Lynchburg                  95                 3. Washington and Lee          118
   4. Washington and Lee         80                 4. Roanoke                     110
   5. Hampden-Sydney             72                 5. Bridgewater                 106
   6. Virginia Wesleyan          71                 6. Shenandoah                   87
   7. Eastern Mennonite          67                 7. Guilford                     74
   8. Guilford                   51                 8. Randolph-Macon               69
   9. Randolph-Macon             49                 9. Eastern Mennonite            53
  10. Bridgewater                45                10. Emory & Henry                45
  11. Shenandoah                 17                11. Randolph                     35
  12. Emory & Henry              16                12. Hollins                      25