NEW YORK – Back-to-back BIG EAST men’s soccer tournament champions, the Georgetown Hoyas, were picked as the preseason favorite in the coaches’ poll released by the conference on Wednesday, 10 days before the start of the 2019 season.
Georgetown junior forward Derek Dodson was voted Preseason Offensive Player of the Year with teammate Dylan Nealis, a senior back, named Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Creighton sophomore Paul Kruse was the preseason pick for Goalkeeper of the Year.
The Hoyas received all nine potential first-place votes and a total of 81 points. Creighton, under the tutelage of first year head coach and longtime Bluejay assistant Johnny Torres was picked second with 68 points. The Bluejays won the regular season title in 2018.
Providence was a close third place pick with 65 points. Marquette was selected to finish fourth with 59 points and the remaining first place vote. Xavier rounds out the top five with 44 points.
The second half of the league’s preseason standings were Butler (40 points), St. John’s (33 points), Seton Hall (28 points), DePaul (21 points) and Villanova (11 points).
The coaches were not allowed to cast ballots for themselves.
Georgetown’s top spot in the coaches’ poll was bolstered by both the preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in Dodson and Nealis. Dodson returns to the pitch for his junior season as the 2018 Hoya scoring leader with 19 points as he scored nine goals with one assist in 17 starts. Dodson was a First Team All-BIG EAST honoree in 2018, following a rookie campaign where he finished as the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and All-BIG EAST Second Team accolades.
Nealis was the 2018 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, a First Team All-East Region selection and a First Team All-BIG EAST honoree. As a defender, Nealis was fourth on the team in scoring with two goals and a squad-best seven assists for 11 points. Those seven assists tied him for second in the BIG EAST. He tallied two game winners, and on the defensive end, helped the squad to a BIG EAST-best 10 shutouts for the year. Earlier this month, Nealis was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy 2019 Watch List for national player of the year.
In addition to the preseason poll and major awards, the conference office also named its 12-member preseason all-league team which consisted of four forwards, four midfielders, three defenders and a goalkeeper. The vote includes an at-large selection. Due to a tie in the voting, where coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players, there is an extra member on this year’s squad. All 10 league coaches vote.
Dodson and Nealis were unanimous selections to the preseason All-BIG EAST squad. Also receiving preseason conference honors from the Hoyas was senior forward Achara. A 2018 All-BIG EAST First Team honoree Achara was third on the Hoyas in scoring last season with seven goals and one assist for 15 points. His four game winners led the team and the league as well. Dodson, Nealis and Achara were all selected as Hoya captains for 2019.
Preseason Goalkeeper honors were awarded to second year net-minder Kruse. As a freshman last season, Kruse earned All-BIG EAST Second Team and BIG EAST All-Freshman honors while starting all 18 matches for regular season Champion Creighton. He posted a 0.64 goals against average, the fifth-best mark in Bluejay history. Kruse led the league during conference play with only seven goals against with four shutouts. For the season, Kruse tallied seven shutouts.
Providence senior midfielder Tiago Mendonca represented the Friars on the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad. Mendonca, a 2018 First Team All-BIG EAST selection, led the Friars in points (10), goals (five) and shots (40) in 2018. The Friars tied with Georgetown last year for second in the league standings with 19 points and a 6-2-1 conference record.
Marquette’s fourth-place selection by the coaches was bolstered by a pair of Golden Eagles on the preseason All-BIG EAST team, senior midfielder Luka Prpa and senior defender Patrick Seagrist. Prpa was an All-BIG EAST First Team selection in 2018, earning all-league accolades for the third time. He scored six goals and six assists for 18 points. Seagrist was also an All-BIG EAST First Team honoree in 2018 and was BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week four times last season. Seagrist helped hold opponents to 1.21 goals per game and a 0.085 shot percentage. He also added five assists on the season. The Golden Eagles finished fourth in the standings last season with a 5-3-1 BIG EAST record (16 points).
Redshirt senior forward Samson Sergi received preseason all-conference honors for Xavier after a junior season that earned him All-BIG EAST Second Team awards. Sergi ranked second in the league in points with 21, trailing only teammate Simen Hestnes. He scored a Xavier-best nine goals including a hat trick in the season-closer to clinch a BIG EAST tournament berth for the Musketeers.
Butler senior midfielder Jared Timmer returns to the preseason All-BIG EAST team entering his final season for the Bulldogs. Timmer played both midfield and back line for Butler in 2018, scoring two goals with one assist on seven shots on goal. Timmer was a 2016 All-BIG EAST First Team honoree.
Joining, Mendonca, Prpa and Timmer on the Preseason All-BIG EAST midfield list was St. John’s sophomore Skage Simonsen, the 2018 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Simonsen was an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection in addition to unanimous All-Freshman Team accolades. Simonsen tied for the team lead in goals (six), assists (four) and points (16). He scored six goals in league action.
Seton Hall sophomore forward C.J. Tibbling earned BIG EAST preseason honors after also earning BIG EAST Second Team honors in 2018 and unanimous All-Freshman team votes. Tibbling led the Pirates with six goals and 14 points in his rookie season.
Rounding out the 2019 Preseason All-BIG EAST team was DePaul senior defender Max de Bruijne. De Bruijne started all 17 contests last year and tied for third-most goals on the squad while playing on a back line that held opponents to a 0.098 shot percentage.
BIG EAST men’s soccer action kicks off the weekend Aug. 30 with all 10 teams in action. League play starts Saturday, Sept. 20. All five opening games will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
2019 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Preseason Honors
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Derek Dodson, Georgetown, Jr., F
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Dylan Nealis, Georgetown, Sr., D
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Paul Kruse, Creighton, So., G
2019 Men’s Soccer Preseason All-BIG EAST #
^ Derek Dodson, Georgetown, Jr., F
Achara, Georgetown, Sr., F
C.J. Tibbling, Seton Hall, So., F
Samson Sergi, Xavier, RS-Sr., F
Luka Prpa, Marquette, Sr., M
Skage Simonsen, St. John’s, So., M
Tiago Mendonca, Providence, Sr., M
Jared Timmer, Butler, Sr., M
^ Dylan Nealis, Georgetown, Sr., D
Patrick Seagrist, Marquette, Sr., D
Max de Bruijne, DePaul, Sr., D
Paul Kruse, Creighton, So., G
2019 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First place votes in ( )
| 1. Georgetown (9) |
81 pts. |
| 2. Creighton |
68 |
| 3. Providence |
65 |
| 4. Marquette (1) |
59 |
| 5. Xavier |
44 |
| 6. Butler |
40 |
| 7. St. John’s |
33 |
| 8. Seton Hall |
28 |
| 9. DePaul |
21 |
| 10. Villanova |
11 |
^ - denotes unanimous selection
# there is an extra player on the preseason All-BIG EAST team due to a tie in voting