Harvard Men's Soccer Ranked 10th in Preseason NSCAA Poll

Photo of co-captain Robert Millock courtesy of Gil Talbot.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard men’s soccer team, fresh off a trip to the Sweet 16 last fall, earned its first ranking of the 2010 preseason, as the Crimson appears 10th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) preseason poll.

Harvard, the only Ivy League team ranked in the poll, will play four teams this fall that earned spots in the rankings (No. 8 Santa Barbara, No. 12 Boston College, No. 13 Stanford and No. 22 Connecticut).  Akron stands first in the poll, followed in order by Virginia, Wake Forest, North Carolina and UCLA.  Maryland, Tulsa and Northwestern round out the top 10.

The Crimson returns 19 letterwinners from last year’s team, which finished 14-4-1 overall and 5-1-1 in the Ivy League.  Harvard, which reached as high as No. 6 in the national rankings in 2009, won the program’s 13th Ivy League title and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the 16th time and fourth time in as many years.  After earning a bye in the opening round.,Harvard topped Monmouth, 3-0, in the second round before falling to defending champion Maryland, 2-0, in the third round.

Harvard, which added seven newcomers for the upcoming campaign, will be led by Carl Junot, the Virginia B. and James O. Welch ’52 Head Coach for Harvard Men’s Soccer, who is entering his first year at the helm.  Junot and the Crimson will open the 2010 season by hosting 13th-ranked Stanford Saturday, Sept. 4.

2010 NSCAA Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
1. Akron
2. Virginia
3. Wake Forest
4. North Carolina
5. UCLA
6. Maryland
7. Tulsa
8. UC Santa Barbara
9. Northwestern
10. Harvard
11. Duke
12. Boston College
13. Stanford
14. Drake
15. Monmouth
16. South Florida
17. St. John's
18. Ohio State
19. Portland
20. Louisville
20. Indiana
22. Connecticut
23. UNC Wilmington
24. Michigan State
25. UC Irvine

2010 Opponents in Italics