Aug. 23, 2012

LANCASTER, PA – In one of the closest preseason polls in years, the Johns Hopkins men’s soccer team was picked to finish second in the Centennial Conference by the league’s coaches. The Blue Jays, winners of eight Centennial Conference titles, finished just two points behind the preseason favorite and defending champion Dickinson Red Devils. Both Hopkins and Dickinson received four first-place votes (coaches are not permitted to vote for their own teams), but the Red Devils totaled 73 points compared to 71 for the Blue Jays.

Muhlenberg finished in third place with 69 points and two first-place votes, followed by Franklin & Marshall (60 points) and Haverford (48 points) to round out the top five.

Hopkins returns a pair of All-Centennial Conference selections in sophomores Rob Heuler and Nick Cerrone. Heuler played in 18 games and started 17 in the midfield last season as a rookie, finished third on the team with two goals and three assists for seven points. Cerrone started 14 games in goal and posted a 0.67 goals against average with a .811 save percentage and eight shutouts. Also returning on the offensive end are sophomores Matt Carey (3g, 2a) and Kotaro Mitsuhashi (2g, 1a).

Hopkins opens the 2012 campaign on Saturday, September 1 versus William Paterson in the Blue Jay Invitational. The game is slated to start at 4:00 pm on Homewood Field.

Preseason Coaches Poll
Team (1st place votes) 2011 Overall, CC Record Pts
1-Dickinson (4) 11-5-5, 6-2-1 73
2-Johns Hopkins (4) 10-5-3, 7-1-1 71
3-Muhlenberg (2) 10-6-1, 6-3 69
4-Franklin & Marshall 10-5-3, 5-3-1 60
5-Haverford 11-6-2, 5-4 48
T6-Gettysburg 7-8-1, 4-4-1 39
T6-Swarthmore 11-6-2, 5-4 39
8-Ursinus 3-12-3, 2-6-1 19
T9-McDaniel 4-11-2, 1-8 16
T9-Washington College 3-11-2, 1-7-1 16