2010 Commonwealth Conference Preseason Poll

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley College was selected to finish fourth in the Commonwealth Conference by the men's soccer coaches in the annual poll released Monday. The Dutchmen received 32 points. Defending national champion Messiah claimed first in the poll with 49 points and seven first place votes. Elizabethtown earned 38 points and one first place vote, while Arcadia tallied 37 points.

After posting its first winning season since 2004, LVC returns 17 players from the 2009 squad and look to retain their winning ways. With four seniors and a mix of experienced underclassmen, the Dutchmen are poised to make another run to the Commonwealth Conference playoffs. In 2009, the team posted an 11-8-2 overall record and made the conference playoffs as well as the ECAC South Region Semifinals. This season, six of the top eight scorers return to the pitch.

With a team philosophy, head coach Charlie Grimes turns to his four seniors with significant contributions in previous years to lead the way. The junior class also brings back players with a wealth of playing experience to compile a strong core of upperclassmen, a change from previous years. Overall the team will be young, but the returning players provide collegiate playing experience along with a mix of several newcomers.

The offense returns two big names, while losing two to graduation. Senior Justin Hutchinson, a two-time first team All-Commonwealth Conference selection and second team All-Mid-Atlantic Region pick by the NSCAA, is set to conclude his career as an important part of the attack. Hutchinson, a catalyst up front, will provide both leadership and statistics. Junior Chris Hall also returns. A playmaker, Hall started all 21 games last season and led the team with 19 points and eight goals. Younger players will compete to fill the other positions up front.

In the midfield, several players come back and aim to make an impact. Junior Eric Woods and sophomore Andrew Cooper are set to patrol the central midfield as well as chip in on offense. Both appeared in every game last season and scored three goals each. Juniors John Wagaman, Conner McAuliffe and Brendan Steele, and sophomores Travis Miller, Stephen Campbell and Kelly Hess will combine to start games as well as come off the bench. Hess tallied nine points in 2009 and McAuliffe had four, meanwhile Steele is poised to gain playing time after missing much of the last two seasons with major injuries.

Anchoring the defense are three seniors, Andrew Hull, George Andriko and Morgan Crouse. All three played in 20 or more games last season and combined for six points. Crouse and Andriko are also relied on for set pieces. A few younger players will fill the final spot in the backfield including sophomore Stephen Simonian, who played in all 21 games in 2009.

The goalkeeper position is up for grabs as three newcomers join LVC. James Clements, a transfer, retains four years of eligibility, while Brian Frasca and Josh Lineaweaver enter the freshmen class. Grimes expects one of the three to take the leadership role and believes a solid group of field players in front will help.

Many of the returning players have been a part of LVC rewriting the history books with the 2008 and 2009 seasons, which included beating Messiah for the first time in program history and winning the Conference title. The success has created a hunger for more records to be broken. Combining youth and experience this year, Grimes believes the team has the right mentality to do even more.