Nichols chosen fifth in preseason soccer poll
DUDLEY, Mass. – Fresh off their fourth Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championship appearance in five years, the Nichols College men's soccer team was picked fifth in the 2013 preseason poll, which was voted upon by the league's 10 head coaches.
The Bison – who received 66 points – return four of their top five scorers from a year ago. Sophomore Donnie Whittle (Ellington, Conn.) led the team in goals (11) – including five game-winners - and finished second on the squad with 22 points en route to earning CCC First Team honors. Classmate Tiago Prezeres (West Hartford, Conn.) potted four goals as a freshman in 2012, which ranked third on the team.
Junior and CCC First Team selection Phil Mitto (Windsor, Conn.) anchors the backline while senior Fred Willard (Webster, Mass.) – who earned CCC Honorable Mention accolades last fall – solidifies in the midfield. Sophomore Alex Geas (Somers, Conn.) is back in goal after going 10-6-0 with three shutouts to help the Bison reach the conference finals.
"I don't put a whole lot of weight in the poll," said head coach Chris Traina, who recorded his 100th career victory last season. "I have no problem being in the middle of the pack every year. We're relatively young, which isn't a bad thing."
Roger Williams – which was upended by the Bison 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals last season – topped the poll with 91 points and five first-place votes. Defending conference champion Salve Regina was second with 89 points and three first-place votes, followed by Western New England with 77 points and the remaining two first-place votes.
Endicott was fourth with 68 points, followed by the Bison, Gordon (59 points), Curry (34), Eastern Nazarene (25), University of New England (23), and Wentworth (18).
The Bison open the 2013 season with a road match at former CCC member New England College on Saturday, August 31 at 1 p.m. Nichols leads the all-time series 16-9-3 and has won the last five matches by a combined score of 12-1.
