Aug. 11, 2010
PORTLAND, Ore. – Concordia University claimed seven of eight first-place votes to earn the favorites’ tag in the 2010 Cascade Collegiate Conference preseason men’s soccer coaches’ poll.
The Cavaliers, who are guided by veteran coach Dan Birkey, have captured seven of the last eight conference championships. Concordia was edged by cross-town rival Warner Pacific in last year’s regular season race and later lost the conference tournament championship game on penalty kicks.
Concordia must replace last year’s CCC Player of the Year, but the Cavs return the league’s newcomer of the year, Jared Brace, who topped the conference with 15 goals and 40 points. CU also returns All-CCC forward Facundo Dipascuale and honorable mention all-conference selections Mirza Ramic and Zack Madison.
Warner Pacific, which is coming off its first CCC title since the program was reinstated in 2000, returns 15 lettermen and six starters from last year’s club, which went 12-5-2 before falling in the opening round of the NAIA tournament. The Knights return one of the CCC’s top players in junior Alija Sacrirovic, who had eight goals and six assists last season to finish as the conference’s fourth-leading scorer. Goalkeeper Sean Ervin is back after ranking second in the CCC in saves a year ago. WPC also returns a pair of second team All-CCC selections in defender Juan Castillo and midfielder Julian Esquivel.
Northwest was picked to finish third in this year’s CCC race, and was followed by College of Idaho, Oregon Tech, Evergreen, Corban, and Northwest Christian.
The Eagles of Northwest return nine letterwinners for eighth-year head coach Gary McIntosh, who was voted the 2009 CCC Coach of the Year after leading his squad to a 9-5-4 record and a 7-5-2 conference finish. Top returnees for the Eagles include midfielder Alex Jackson, a first team All-CCC choice, and second team all-conference selection Luke Fischer.
2010 CCC Preseason Poll
| Team |
Points |
| 1. Concordia (7) |
63 |
| 2. Warner Pacific (1) |
52 |
| 3. Northwest |
39 |
| 4. College of Idaho |
37 |
| 5. Oregon Tech |
32 |
| 6. Evergreen |
30 |
| 7. Corban |
22 |
| 8. Northwest Christian |
13 |
| |
| First place votes in parentheses |