Joseph Holland was the 2015 CAA Player of the Year
Hofstra & Holland Highlight Preseason Picks
Kelly McCarthy
RICHMOND, Va. (August 18, 2016) – Hofstra was picked to repeat as CAA Men’s Soccer champions in 2016 while the Pride’s senior midfielder
Joseph Holland was selected as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s nine head coaches.
Hofstra received eight first place votes to finish with 64 points. Last season, the Pride went 14-8 overall and 6-2 in conference play and captured their first CAA Men’s Soccer Championship since 2006 with a 2-0 victory over Delaware. Hofstra made the most of its automatic berth to the NCAA Championship, advancing to the second round. Leading the way on offense was Holland, who earned 2015 CAA Player of the Year honors after scoring eight goals and adding nine assists. Holland also became Hofstra’s first NSCAA All-American since 2012 when he landed a spot on the Second Team. On defense, the Pride counted on
Harri Hawkins, who earned All-CAA First Team honors last season after appearing in 22 matches and adding two goals and an assist.
Delaware was picked to finish second in the poll with 55 points followed by Elon in third with 48 points and UNCW in fourth with 39 points. William & Mary rounded out the top-five with 35 points and was followed by College of Charleston (28), James Madison (23), Northeastern (20) and Drexel (12).
The Blue Hens are coming off a season in which they went 10-7-4 overall and 5-2-1 in CAA play. Delaware is led Preseason All-CAA forward
Guillermo Delgado, senior midfielder
Thomas de Villardi, and junior defender
Thibault Philippe. Last season, Delgado became the Hens’ first three-time All-American after posting 24 points, which included 10 goals. Entering his senior campaign, Delgado was named MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Both de Villardi (2g, 9a) and Philippe (3g) joined Delgado on the All-CAA First Team one season ago.
Elon earned a share of the CAA Regular Season Championship by finishing league play with a 6-2 mark while going 14-6-1 overall. The Phoenix earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship and advanced to the second round. Elon looks to its pair of Preseason All-CAA selections Jaiden Fortune, a forward, and Jonathan Coleby, a back. Fortune earned CAA All-Rookie Team honors after tallying five goals and six assists for 16 points last season. Coleby, meanwhile, appeared in 19 games on the backline with an assist.
William & Mary had three selections to the Preseason All-CAA Team including midfielder
Marcel Berry, the 2015 CAA Co-Rookie of the Year, who had 10 points on three goals and four assists. Sophomore midfielder
Antonio Bustamante (5g, 1a) and junior forward
William Eskay (7g, 4a) also earned recognition.
Drexel junior midfielder
Erik Alexandersson (2g) and James Madison senior goalkeeper
Kyle Morton (1.28 GAA, 64 saves) rounded out the Preseason All-CAA squad.
The CAA is traditionally one of the nation’s top men’s soccer conferences, with the league placing multiple teams in the NCAA Tournament in 12 of the last 14 years. All nine CAA teams have made at least one NCAA Tournament appearance over the past decade.
The 2016 season kicks off on August 26 with all nine CAA teams in action. The top six teams at season’s end will qualify for the CAA Championship. The quarterfinals are slated for November 5 while the semifinals and final will be held November 11-13 at the home site of the highest seed.
| 2016 CAA Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll |
|
| Pl. |
Team |
Pts (1st Place Votes) |
|
| 1. |
Hofstra |
64 (8) |
|
| 2. |
Delaware |
55 (1) |
|
| 3. |
Elon |
48 |
|
| 4. |
UNCW |
39 |
|
| 5. |
William & Mary |
35 |
|
| 6. |
College of Charleston |
28 |
|
| 7. |
James Madison |
23 |
|
| 8. |
Northeastern |
20 |
|
| 9. |
Drexel |
12 |
|
2016 Preseason All-CAA Men’s Soccer Team |
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| Guillermo Delgado |
Delaware |
F |
Sr. |
Tres Cantos, Spain |
| William Eskay |
William & Mary |
F |
Jr. |
Urbana, Md. |
| Jaiden Fortune |
Elon |
F |
So. |
Bedford, England |
| Erik Alexandersson |
Drexel |
M |
Jr. |
Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Marcel Berry |
William & Mary |
M |
So. |
Charlottesville, Va. |
| Antonio Bustamante |
William & Mary |
M |
So. |
Springfield, Va. |
| Thomas de Villardi |
Delaware |
M |
Sr. |
Vincennes, France |
| Joseph Holland |
Hofstra |
M |
Sr. |
London, England |
| Jonathan Coleby |
Elon |
D |
Jr. |
Middlesbrough, United Kingdom |
| Harri Hawkins |
Hofstra |
D |
Sr. |
Cambridge, England |
| Thibault Philippe |
Delaware |
D |
Jr. |
Saint-Brienc, France |
| Kyle Morton |
James Madison |
GK |
Sr. |
West Chester, Pa. |
2016 CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Joseph Holland, Hofstra |
Honorable Mention: Toby Appleton, James Madison (D); Leland Archer, CofC (D); Ryder Bell, William & Mary (F); Joel Bylander, UNCW (M); Matthew Jegier, Elon (GK); Ackim Mpofu, Northeastern (M); Martin Nygaard, Northeastern (D); Nicholas O’Callaghan, Elon (D); Nico Rittmeyer, CofC (F); Kevin Shields, CofC (GK) |
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