NEW YORK – In a split vote between the BIG EAST Conference coaches, Creighton and Georgetown were picked to win the league’s men’s soccer title as announced by the league on Tuesday. Both the Bluejays and Hoyas tallied 77 points and five first place votes each. Georgetown and Creighton also split the conference’s major preseason awards as Hoya Joshua Yaro was unanimously voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and teammate Brandon Allen earned the offensive honor. Bluejay Connor Sparrow was picked as the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
Georgetown, ranked No. 3 in the national preseason poll conducted by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), claimed three on the preseason BIG EAST All-Conference team with both major award winners Allen and Yaro, unanimous picks. Keegan Rosenberry joined the Allen-Yaro duo, who are both on the watch list for the 2015 Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy. Allen was named a Third Team All-American and was a first team all-region selection last season after another impressive campaign. He led Georgetown in scoring with 11 goals and three assists for 25 points on the year. His goals include three game winners and a mark of 3-3 on penalty kicks. He ranked first in the BIG EAST in goals and second in points as well as first in goals per game. Yaro was a 2014 Hermann Trophy semifinalist, a First Team All-American and First Team All-Great Lakes Region last season. The 2014 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year was also a unanimous selection to the league's first team. He was a key part of Georgetown's 10 shutouts in 2014, including a league-best six in the nine conference games played. Rosenberry was another key member of the Hoyas’ backfield as he too was named All-Great Lakes Region and was Second Team All-BIG EAST in 2014.
Creighton returns virtually its entire arsenal from last season, a team which won the BIG EAST regular season. The Bluejays, who were ranked sixth in the NSCAA preseason poll, boasted three on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team, led by Timo Pitter, who was picked unanimously by the BIG EAST coaches, Fabian Herbers and Sparrow. Pitter, also on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and a 2014 NSCAA Second Team All-American, was last year’s BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and both an All-BIG EAST First Team selection and BIG EAST All-Tournament team member. Herbers, a MAC Trophy Semifinalist in 2014 and also on this year’s watch list, led the BIG EAST in points (11) and points per game (1.22). Sparrow allowed a 0.65 goals against average in nine league matches in 2014, helped by four shutouts and 21 saves. He ranked second in the NCAA with a 0.49 GAA. Sparrow recorded 11 shutouts overall.
Providence captured their first ever BIG EAST title in program history in 2014 and advanced to the NCAA College Cup semifinal. The Friars were picked by the BIG EAST coaches to finish third in 2015, with 65 votes and were ranked seventh in the national preseason NSCAA poll. Two returning Friars were selected to the preseason All-BIG EAST team, Mac Steeves and Julian Gressel. Steeves was the 2014 College Cup Offensive MVP and ranked first in the conference in overall goals per game (.50) and total goals (11). The forward was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team and NSCAA All-Region Third Team. Gressel, a member of the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team, accounted for five goals and five assists last season, three goals in league play.
Preseason All-BIG EAST defender Cory Brown returns to lead the
Xavier Musketeers, who were picked to finish fourth in BIG EAST play (55 points). Brown (3g, 3a) was a NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team, BIG EAST Second Team and BIG EAST All-Rookie team selection in 2014. Despite losing the winningest senior class in Xavier history, the Musketeers will return an eight-man senior class and three of their top-four scorers including sophomore Matt Vasquenza (7g, 6a), senior Alex Ridsdale (5g, 4a) and junior Jalen Brown (4g, 2a). Xavier was voted No. 19 in the NSCAA preseason poll.
C. Nortey and Louis Bennet II were selected to the preseason All-BIG EAST team to lead the fifth pick
Marquette (50 points). Nortey was an NSCAA All-Region Third Team selection and All-BIG EAST First Team member in 2014 with 16 points off seven goals and two assists. Bennett collected 14 points (4g, 6a) and was also a 2014 All-BIG EAST First Team selection and NSCAA All-Region second team member.
St. John’s returns a total of 15 players from last season’s roster, including nine letterwinners. Red Storm defender Jean Leveille and goalkeeper Jordan Stagmiller started all 18 games a season ago and lead a group of six returners that started at least five contests. The Red Storm was picked to finish sixth in the conference with 36 points.
Preseason All-BIG EAST selection David Goldsmith leads
Butler, who was picked seventh by the league coaches with 33 points. Goldsmith was voted second team All-Great Lakes and second team All-BIG EAST with six goals and three assists for the season, two goals, two assists in league action.
Villanova returns goalkeeper Will Steiner who posted a 0.86 GAA in 2014 and was second in the BIG EAST in save percentage (0.835). Steiner led the league in saves last season with 86. The Wildcats received 29 points in the preseason coaches’ poll.
Seton Hall and
DePaul were voted ninth and 10th with 19 and nine points, respectively. Keeper Julian Spindler (7 shutouts, 1.49 GAA), midfielder Samuel Geiler (1g, 5a) and 2014 BIG EAST All-Rookie selection John Philbin lead the Pirates; while fellow 2014 BIG EAST All-Rookie team member Hans Wustling (5a) and senior defender Jalen Harvey (5g) returns for the Blue Demons.
Voting for the poll and the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team was conducted by the league's 10 head coaches who could not cast ballots for their own teams or student-athletes.
All 10 BIG EAST men’s soccer teams open the 2015 campaign on Aug. 28. BIG EAST play commences Sept. 26-27, with the top six teams at regular-season's end earning spots in the BIG EAST Championship. All rounds of the 2015 BIG EAST Championship will be played at campus sites with the higher seed hosting. For the composite schedule of all 10 BIG EAST teams, visit
www.BIGEAST.com.
2015 Preseason Men’s Soccer All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – Brandon Allen, Georgetown, Sr., F
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Joshua Yaro, Georgetown, Jr., D ^
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year – Connor Sparrow, Creighton, Sr.
Preseason All-BIG EAST *
^ Brandon Allen, Georgetown, Sr., F
Mac Steeves, Providence, Jr., F
C. Nortey, Marquette, Marquette, RS-Sr., F
David Goldsmith, Butler, Jr., F
Fabian Herbers, Creighton, Jr., M/F
^ Timo Pitter, Creighton, Sr., M
Louis Bennett II, Marquette, Jr., M
Julian Gressel, Providence, Jr., M
Keegan Rosenberry, Georgetown, Sr., M/D
^ Joshua Yaro, Georgetown, Jr., D
Cory Brown, Xavier, So., D
Connor Sparrow, Creighton, Sr., GK
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First place votes in ( )
1. Creighton – 77 pts. (5 first place votes)
Georgetown – 77 pts. (5)
3. Providence – 65 pts.
4. Xavier – 55 pts.
5. Marquette – 50 pts.
6. St. John’s – 36 pts.
7. Butler – 33 pts.
8. Villanova – 29 pts.
9. Seton Hall – 19 pts.
10. DePaul – 9 pts.
^ - denotes unanimous selection
* - due to a tie in voting the preseason All-BIG EAST