Aug. 19, 2009

RICHMOND, Va. - George Mason, which returns six starters from last season's 14-7-2 squad that captured its first CAA men's soccer title since 1989, was a unanimous pick to repeat as conference champion this season according to a vote of the league's 12 men's soccer coaches.

The Patriots claimed the top spot in the poll after receiving all 11 possible first-place votes and 121 total points, since coaches were not allowed to pick the finish of their own team. Old Dominion, which has competed in the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship in five of the past six seasons, was second in the voting and William and Mary, which made its first NCAA appearance since 2002 a year ago, received one first-place vote and was picked third. UNC Wilmington was chosen fourth, followed by Northeastern, Towson, VCU, Hofstra, James Madison, Drexel, Georgia State and Delaware.

George Mason finished the 2008 season ranked No. 19 in the nation by Soccer America after winning the CAA tournament title and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. The Patriots, who are ranked No. 29 nationally by College Soccer News in its 2009 preseason poll, welcome back a pair of all-conference standouts in senior goalkeeper Sean Kelley (0.93 GAA, 78 svs., 10 ShO) and senior midfielder Richard Edgar (2g, 1a). The Patriots have also added a highly-touted recruiting class, ranked in the Top-15 in the nation by College Soccer News.

Traditionally regarded as one of the top men's soccer conferences in the nation, the CAA has sent multiple teams to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship in 12 of the 14 past seasons and has had at least one team advance to the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament in five of the last seven years.

2009 CAA MEN'S SOCCER PRE-SEASON COACHES POLL
1. George Mason (11 first-place votes)		121
2. Old Dominion					100
3. William & Mary (1 first-place vote)		94
4. UNC Wilmington				86
5. Northeastern					75
6. Towson					68
7. VCU						67
8. Hofstra					60
9. James Madison				43
10. Drexel					39
11. Georgia State				22
12. Delaware					17
(Teams received 11 points for a first-place vote, 10 for second, etc.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.)