Concordia Tabbed as Preseason Favorite by CCC Head Coaches

8/7/2008 10:03:27 AM

PORTLAND, Ore. – Concordia University, which has won or shared the last six regular season Cascade Collegiate Conference titles, is the unanimous choice to win the 2008 crown, according to a vote of the conference’s nine head coaches.

The Cavaliers, under the direction of veteran coach Dan Birkey, received all nine first-place votes in balloting for both the CCC’s North Division and postseason tournament championships. The top three teams from the North and South divisions will meet in the CCC tournament in early November. Under the NAIA’s new conference-direct qualification plan, in which regional postseason tournament play has been eliminated, the winner of the CCC tournament will earn the league’s automatic bid to the national championships, which are slated to begin Nov. 22.

Concordia returns 13 lettermen and nine starters off its 2007 team, which went 16-4 overall and captured the CCC title with a 13-1 mark. Key returnees include three first team All-CCC selections from 2007: junior forward Alex Ponce, last year’s CCC Player of the Year who led the league in scoring (14 goals, 13 assists); senior goalkeeper Garrett Staples, a 2007 honorable mention All-American who posted a goals-against average of 0.91; and senior midfielder Lucas Egenwall, a 2007 honorable mention All-American.

CCC coaches tabbed College of Idaho as the favorite to win the league’s South Division crown. C of I, under the guidance of fifth-year coach Brian Smith, received all nine first-place votes in balloting among South Division teams. The Yotes return eight starters from last year’s 11-6-1 club, including a pair of returning All-CCC selections in senior forward Alex Penrod and junior midfielder Kazuki Murata.

There figures to be a lot of star power in the CCC in 2008; in total, the league returns nine of the top 10 scorers and eight of 13 first-team all-conference selections from 2007. In addition to the returning all-conference selections from Concordia and College of Idaho, Warner Pacific returns a pair of first team All-CCC honorees in forwards Chris Price and Davor Lukic, and Evergreen returns a first-team all-league choice in forward Shawn Farrow.