Experienced group set to lead men's soccer in 2018
BETHANY, W.Va. (Aug. 23) - With an experienced group slated to return, the Bethany College men's soccer team was selected to finish tied for fourth in the Presidents' Athletics Conference (PAC) Preseason Coaches Poll announced this morning.
The Bison, under 10th-year Head Coach Sean Regan, will return four of the their top-eight point scorers from a season ago, as well as a pair of all-conference selections on the back-end.
Sophomore forward Jose Lujan (Madrid, Spain/Centro Educativo Punta Galea) will look to build off of a productive rookie campaign when he finished second on the team with 12 points. He led the team with four assists and ranked third with four goals, while appearing in 18 of the squad's 19 matches.
Lujan will have a trio of experienced midfielders behind him in senior Jay O'Donnell (Cardiff, Wales/Radyr Comprehensive) and sophomores Tony Cirri (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) and Iwan Mooney (Cardiff, Wales/Plasmawr). Cirri and Mooney each registered identical seven-point lines (three goals, one assist) to tie for fifth on the team in points, while O'Donnell is a three-year starter with 56 career starts and 18 career points (five goals, eight assists).
The back-end of the team is anchored by a pair of returning All-PAC selections in sophomore goalkeeper Torben Grether (Rheinfelden, Germany/Georg-Buchner) and junior defender Mikel Ubeda (Sopelana, Spain/Azkorri). Grether was a second-team all-conference honoree after he finished 6-7-2 overall with three shutouts. His 1.10 goals against average (GAA), 65 saves and .802 save percentage all ranked among the top-four in the PAC last year. Meanwhile, Ubeda, who was an honorable mention, started 15 games and tallied one goal and one assist, including a game-winning goal in the 80th-minute of a 1-0 win at Westminster.
Bethany will play a pair of exhibitions against Carlow and Wheeling Jesuit, before opening the regular-season on Friday, August 31 when it travels to Virginia to play at Bridgewater at 4 p.m.
The team will play its opener on Wednesday, September 5 at Hoag Field when they host Ferrum in a non-conference game at 1 p.m.
| 2018 PAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish) | ||
| School (first-place votes) | Points | 2017 record (PAC) |
| 1. Grove City College (4) | 58 | 12-6-4 (6-1-1) |
| 2. Geneva College (2) | 54 | 14-4-2 (6-1-1) |
| 3. Washington & Jefferson College (2) | 49 | 11-7 (4-4) |
| T-4. Bethany College | 38 | 8-9-2 (2-4-2) |
| T-4. Westminster College | 38 | 8-9-1 (3-5) |
| 6. Waynesburg University | 25 | 5-9-2 (3-5) |
| 7. Thiel College | 16 | 4-11-1 (1-6-1) |
| 8. Saint Vincent College | 10 | 4-13-1 (1-7) |
