IRVINE, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University was tabbed the top team in the Hawai'i Pod and chosen sixth overall in the annual PacWest Conference Men's Preseason Soccer Poll chosen by the league's coaches.
HPU senior midfielder
Gerrit Arzberger of Munich, Germany, was also selected to the Preseason All-PacWest Conference Team.
Concordia Irvine was voted by the PacWest coaches as the preseason favorite for the upcoming soccer season that will feature in-pod play. Point Loma's Tim Siegfrield is the Preseason Player of the Year and Jake Eisenberg is the Preseason Defender of the Year, while Patrick Timmer from Fresno Pacific was unanimously voted the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
Concordia finished in second place in the PacWest last year with eight wins in conference play and has four returners that are on the Preseason All-PacWest Team. Michael Oakson and Willy Ospina are both all-conference midfielders along with Luke Ryan as a forward and Nick Aquino as a defender. Concordia received five of the 10 first-place votes in the preseason poll.
The Eagles will play a four-game conference schedule this season with home and away games against Biola and Point Loma, making up the PacWest Southern California Pod. Those three teams are the top-3 in the preseason poll.
Point Loma received four first-place votes was just one point behind Concordia in the preseason poll. The Sea Lions finished third in the PacWest last year, and their 11 overall wins was the most among teams that will be competing this season. Siegfied scored four game-winning goals last year, which was the fifth most in the PacWest for the three-time All-PacWest honoree. Eisenberg is a two-time all-conference honoree who helped the Sea Lions record six shutouts last season.
Biola is picked third in the preseason poll and is represented on the Preseason All-PacWest team by Lawrence Kwazema, who joins the Eagles as a transfer from Northern Illinois. He joins a squad that has won at least six conference games every year since joining the conference.
Dominican is the favorite in the Northern California Pod and is picked fourth overall. The Penguins are scheduled to play six conference games, taking on Fresno Pacific, Holy Names and Academy of Art. The Sunbirds are represented on the All-PacWest team by Fellipe Souza and Caesar Angulo after getting voted fifth in the preseason poll.
Hawai'i Pacific tops the PacWest Hawai'i Pod as the preseason favorite, being picked sixth overall with one first-place vote.
Gerrit Arzberger is on the Preseason All-PacWest team for the Sharks after registering nine goals and seven assists last year. He was one of three players in the league with at least six goals and six assists.
The Sharks are picked right ahead of the other two members of the PacWest Hawai'i Pod with Chaminade seventh and Hawai'i Hilo eighth. The three teams will play a four-game schedule against each other.
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| 2021 SPRING PACWEST PRESEASON MEN'S SOCCER POLL |
|
TEAM |
POINTS |
2019 PACWEST
RECORD |
| 1. |
Concordia Irvine (5) |
93 |
8-3 |
| 2. |
Point Loma (4) |
92 |
7-3-1 |
| 3. |
Biola |
65 |
6-3-2 |
| 4. |
Dominican |
63 |
7-4 |
| 5. |
Fresno Pacific |
58 |
4-6-1 |
| 6. |
Hawai'i Pacific (1) |
57 |
4-6-1 |
| 7. |
Chaminade |
49 |
7-4 |
| 8. |
Hawai'i Hilo |
49 |
4-7 |
| 9. |
Holy Names |
24 |
1-8-2 |
| 10. |
Academy of Art |
16 |
0-10-1 |
| First-place votes in parenthesis |
Preseason All-PacWest Team
GK – Patrick Timmer, Fresno Pacific (Goalkeeper of the Year)
D – Jake Eisenberg, Point Loma (Defender of the Year)
D – Caesar Angulo, Fresno Pacific
D – Nick Aquino, Concordia
D – Jacob Moreno, Point Loma
M –
Gerrit Arzberger, Hawai'i Pacific
M – Michael Oakson, Concordia
M – Willy Ospina, Concordia
M – Lawrence Kwazema, Biola
F – Tim Siegfried, Point Loma (Player of the Year)
F – Hunter Loomis, Point Loma
F – Fellipe Souza, Fresno Pacific
F – Luke Ryan, Concordia
