Monday, August 07, 2006

MACON, Ga. – The Campbell Fighting Camels top the Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Men’s Soccer Poll as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Camels were a slim favorite to defend their regular season crown as well as capture the A-Sun Championship title and the NCAA Tournament bid that accompanies it.

Campbell barley edged 2005 tournament champ Stetson and four-time regular season winner Mercer in the preseason predictions. The three teams collected all eight first place votes among them with Mercer claiming four and the other pair splitting the last four. Just two points separated the three squads.

Head Coach Doug Hess returns several talented players to Buies Creek this fall including A-Sun Player of the Year Willy Guadarrama and co-Defensive Players of the Year Aaron Johnson and Devin Sheppard. The Camels’ Guadarrama was arguably the top forward in the nation last year after piling up 21 goals in 20 matches on his way to leading the NCAA in both goals scored and points per game. Stetson clicked in the postseason, allowing just two goals on their way to the team’s A-Sun Tournament title while Mercer will look to 2004 A-Sun Freshman of the Year Vicente Arze to put his injury-plagued 2005 campaign behind him and lift the Bears back to the top of the standings.

Campbell received three votes as tournament champ with Mercer and Stetson grabbing two nods each and Belmont corralling the last of the eight available votes.

After the big three, Belmont and Jacksonville tied for fourth place while Gardner-Webb landed sixth. If the prediction holds, the Bulldogs would make their first A-Sun Championship appearance since joining the league in 2002. Rounding out the poll were Lipscomb in seventh and UNF in eighth.

The 12-member league headquartered in Macon, Ga., consists of Belmont, Campbell, ETSU, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, UNF and Stetson with Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate beginning competition in 2007-08.

Tournament Champion: Campbell