Aug. 17, 2005
For the third consecutive year, 2004 MSPF Champion University of New Mexico tops the MPSF Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll, capturing five of the six first-place votes to outpace University of Denver, who finished MPSF runners-up to UNM last season. UNLV was third in the poll with Sacramento State earning the fourth spot, while San Jose State got the fifth-place nod and Air Force earned the sixth slot. For the second season, the MPSF will determine it’s champion and NCAA automatic qualifier after a 10-match double round-robin league schedule with the Federation champion being the team with the best conference record.
Team Points
1. New Mexico 25 points (5 first-place votes)
2. Denver 20 points (one first-place vote)
3. UNLV 14 points
4. Sacramento State 11 points
5. San Jose State 10 points
6. Air Force 8 points
No. 1: NEW MEXICO 17-1-2 (10-1-1 MPSF 2004) – The Lobo’s men’s soccer team enters 2005 as the reigning MPSF Champion and is coming off one of the most successful campaigns in school history, having finished the 2004 regular season ranked No. 1 in Soccer America’s Top-25, and advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time. UNM returns seven starters and 13 letterwinners from last season, including All-American forward Jeff Rowland, who ranked third in NCAA goals-per-game (0.95) and points-per-game (2.25) last season. He set a school record with 45 points on 19 goals and seven assists, while earning MPSF co-Player of the Year honors. New Mexico is ranked sixth in the CollegeSoccerNews.com Preseason top-30 and eighth in the NSCAA preseason top-25. Lobos to watch include senior forward Rowland (19g, 7a), who earned 2004 NSCAA 1st Team All-American, 2004 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American, MPSF co-Player of the Year, 1st Team All-Far West Region; senior midfielders, Lance Watson, (8g, 4a), 2004 1st Team All-Far West Region and 1st team All-MPSF honors, and Brandon Moss (1g, 1a), 2004 2nd Team All-MPSF, 3rd Team All-Far West Region, and NSCAA 2nd Team Scholar Athlete selection. On the back line, UNM junior defender Andrew Boyens (2g, 0a) was also honored as the 2004 MPSF co-Player of the Year, MPSF Newcomer of the Year, and 2nd Team All-Far West Region; senior defender, Ben Ashwill (0g, 4a) was honorable mention All-MPSF; and West Conference Conference senior transfer, Josh Brown (0g, 1a), earned 1st Team All-WCC honors and was also a 3rd Team All-Far West Region selection. The Lobo start the season on the road with an exhibition match at No. 19 Notre Dame on Monday, August 22 at 6:00 p.m.
No. 2: DENVER 12-5-1 (9-3-0 MPSF 2004) – Head Coach Chad Ashton (9th year) lost three starters from 2004’s record-setting squad and will fill that void with junior James Merriman (3g, 5a) and senior Scott Davidson (4g) taking charge. Freshman Kellen Johnson, the NSCAA 2004 Colorado Player of the Year from Columbine HS should add punch at midfield. 2004 DU scoring leader senior Travis Hendricks (9g, 3a, 12pts) will set the tempo in midfield, with junior Ben Mendozza also stepping up. British Columbia Provincial Team member Joey Mathot and fellow Canadian Greg Fiddick will join DU’s midfield lineup. The Pioneers will have an experienced back line with the return of All-American Liam Girard, Mike Seager and Thomas Flynn and Zach Kobilca. In net, Denver appears to be solid as sophomore Matt Bredehoft returns for his second season after posting a 0.98 goals against average with five shutouts last year. Denver will play four teams from last year’s NCAA College Cup Tournament including Michigan, Michigan State, Washington and MPSF rival NEW MEXICO.
No. 3: UNLV 4-13-2 (5-7-0 MPSF 2004) – The UNLV men’s soccer team knows it has a difficult challenge ahead for itself in 2005, as the Rebels graduated 10 players from last year’s team. In addition, they will have to search for more scoring options to help out senior midfielder Rod Dyachenko. Dyachenko was named All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for the second-straight season last year after scoring a team-high seven goals, but as a team the Rebels managed to find the back of the net just 12 times for the year. Look for Dyachenko and senior goalkeeper Peter Clitheroe to use their experience to help lead the 2005 Rebel squad that will feature 12 newcomers.
No. 4: SACRAMENTO STATE 6-12-1 (5-7-0 MPSF 2004) – After a third place finish in the MPSF last season, the Hornets return eight starters including leading goal scorer junior forward Ryan Rhoads, junior all-conference defender Utodi Madu and senior all-conference goalkeeper Matt McDougall. The team also posted one of its most productive offensive seasons in 2004 with 24 goals, the most for the team since 2001. The Hornets look to continue that trend with the return of junior forward Eli Millan, who scored five goals last season; and central midfielders Marco Ramirez and Ricky Rodriguez. Sacramento State also brought in one of its top recruiting classes in program history with freshman defender Jeff Buddenbohn, the team’s first high school All-American out of St. Francis HS, and junior forward Oscar Sandoval, who scored 12 goals and helped Moorpark College to the Western State Conference championship in 2004.
No. 5: SAN JOSE STATE 5-13-1 (4-8-0 MPSF 2004) – The 2005 Spartans’ men’s soccer team will look to rebound from its first losing campaign in five seasons. Head Coach Gary St. Clair (16th season) must accomplish the turnaround with new faces, as seven starters departed from a year ago. Senior co-captains Johnny Gonzalez and Dylan Pender lead the offense and defense, respectively. Gonzalez is a three-time All-MPSF honoree who has produced 18 goals and eight assists in his career. Two returning players highlight the midfield contingent in senior Marvin Sorto (team-leading 7a) and junior Daniel Perez.
No. 6: AIR FORCE 8-10-1 (4-8-0 MPSF 2004) – Coach Lou Sagastume has seven starters returning for the 2005 campaign. The four that left included two all-conference performers and two staples in the starting lineup. Once again, Air Force’s defenders will be talented and experienced. Senior co-captains Todd Myers (all-MPSF honorable mention in 2004) and Clay McGillivray lead a group that allowed opponents just 6.6 shots on goal per game last season. Senior Colin Eames (6g, 4a, 16pts) is back as the team’s top returning scorer after tying for eighth-place in points and goals in the MPSF.