Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Men's Soccer	SIUE Men's Soccer SIUE Athletics

GLVC Men's Soccer

August 6, 2007 COURTESY OF GLVC SPORTS INFORMATION SIUE Picked to Repeat as GLVC Men’s Soccer Champion Cougars Favored in GLVC Preseason Coaches’ Poll to Collect Fifth Title           INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has been chosen as the favorite to claim the 2007 Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Soccer Championship. The Cougars collected 149 total points in the annual GLVC Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll as voted on by the conference’s head coaches.           SIU Edwardsville garnered six first-place votes and outdistanced Northern Kentucky, which finished second in the poll with 143 points. Northern Kentucky collected four first-place votes.           UW-Parkside finished third in the 2007 GLVC Preseason Coaches’ Poll with 130 total points and two first-place votes. Rockhurst placed fourth in the poll with 125 total points and received the final first-place vote.           Lewis placed fifth in the poll with 116 total points and Indianapolis finished sixth with 90 total points. Drury (88 points) finished seventh and was followed by Quincy (81), Missouri-St. Louis (63), Bellarmine (61), Missouri-Rolla (60), Southern Indiana (37), Saint Joseph’s (21) and Kentucky Wesleyan (19).           SIUE, the 2006 GLVC Champion, posted a 15-4-3 overall record and finished 10-2-1 in league play a year ago. The Cougars advanced to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Final before falling to rival Northern Kentucky, 3-2, in overtime. It was the third consecutive season that the Cougars have advanced to the regional title game.           Head Coach Ed Huneke returns six starters from last season’s championship squad, including All-GLVC honorees Randy Roy and Zach Bauer. The backs will again anchor a defense that surrendered just one goal per game and maintained a 0.97 goals against average.           Also included in the Cougars’ returnees are their top three goal-scorers. Junior Dustin Attarian registered a team-high eight goals to go along with six assists last season. Senior Ross Beveridge and sophomore Kevin Bielicki each posted seven goals in 2006.           Northern Kentucky (16-3-3, 9-2-2 GLVC) is coming off the school’s best finish following a run to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals in 2006. The Norse return five All-GLVC selections to this season’s roster.           Included among a host of returning starters from the 2006 team are All-GLVC selections Braden Bishop, Andy Bacon, Dan Impellizzeri, Tony Capurro and Tony Ray. Bishop was the 2006 GLVC Freshman of the Year and a First-Team All-Region selection after leading the Norse with 12 goals and 27 points in 2006.           The Norse will be tracking their first GLVC title since 1995. Like the Cougars, Northern Kentucky will be searching for their fifth GLVC title.           The complete 2007 GLVC Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll follows: *Team (First-place votes) Total Points 1. SIU Edwardsville (6) 149 2. Northern Kentucky (4) 143 3. UW-Parkside (2) 130 4. Rockhurst (1) 125 5. Lewis 116 6. Indianapolis 90 7. Drury 88 8. Quincy 81 9. Missouri-St. Louis 63 10. Bellarmine 61 11. Missouri-Rolla 60 12. Southern Indiana 37 13. Saint Joseph’s 21 14. Kentucky Wesleyan 19 *The poll includes votes from 13 of the league’s 14 institutions.