Concordia sophomore midfielder Turner Bloom is one of 11 returners from the 2008 CU team.
Concordia Cracks Top 25 in NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With 129 votes, the six-time defending Cascade Collegiate Conference champion Concordia men’s soccer team came in ranked No. 25 in the NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll released by the NAIA on Tuesday.
Concordia returns four starters and 13 letterwinners from the 2008 squad which advanced to the second round of the NAIA National Championships after defeating No. 1-seeded The College of Idaho in the finals of the CCC Tournament. Concordia is coached by Dan Birkey. In his 22nd year with the Cavaliers, Birkey has compiled a 280-135-15 record (.667) and stands No. 10 all-time in wins among active NAIA coaches. He has taken the Cavaliers to four NAIA National Tournaments since 1999.
Also representing the CCC, last season’s regular season champion, C of I, received a single vote. The Yotes were picked second on the CCC Preseason Poll behind Concordia.
Behind the strength of the school's first ever men's soccer national championship, Bethel (Tenn.) University was selected as the No. 1 team in the Preseason Top 25 Poll. Posting 19 of the 21 available first-place votes, the Wildcats earned 588 total points. Under third-year head coach Melvin Belong, Bethel enters the season on a 14-match unbeaten streak after going 17-5-2 in 2008. Bethel is a relative newcomer to the poll breaking over a one-year drought; the last time the Wildcats were ranked was Oct. 10, 2007 at No. 23.
With 572 total points, Rio Grande (Ohio) earned the No. 2 spot. The Red Storm lost to Bethel in the 2008 National Championship final by a score of 2-1 in overtime.
Oklahoma City, a squad seeded No. 1 in the 2008 National Championship, stands at No. 3 in the poll. The Stars are coming off a 20-3-1 record and tallied 540 total points and one first-place vote. Mt. Vernon Nazarene (Ohio), who is tabbed at No. 4, is at its highest spot in program history. Starting with its first ever ranking at No. 25 back on Nov. 4, 2008, the Cougars have slid up in each of the last four polls. Behind the return of First Team All-American Jon Fahey, Concordia (Calif.) is at No. 5 with 490 total points.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The first regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Sept. 8.