LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.’s men’s soccer team, which won the California Collegiate Athletic Association South Division championship and hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA playoffs last season, has been ranked 12th in a national pre-season poll released on Tuesday.
The Golden Eagles, who went 18-4-1 overall and reached the NCAA Division II West Region title game for the third time in the past four years in 2009, will open the season with a home match against Biola on Sept. 2 at 4 p.m.
Cal State L.A. is one of four CCAA programs to be included in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll. Cal State Dominguez Hills is ranked sixth, Sonoma State is ranked 22nd and Cal State San Bernardino is ranked 25th. Those four teams qualified for the NCAA Division II West Regional, which was hosted by top-seed Cal State L.A.
Defending national champion Fort Lewis (Colo.) is ranked No. 1 in the pre-season poll. Lees-McRae (N.C.), Lewis (Ill.), LeMoyne (N.Y.) and the University of Tampa round out the national top-five.
The Golden Eagles return only three starters and eight players from last year’s squad and expect to be fortified by one of their largest recruiting classes in recent years.
Head coach Chris Chamides, who earned his second conference Coach of the Year award in men’s soccer last season after guiding the Golden Eagles to a 13-2-1 conference record and an 18-4-1 mark overall, will welcome back four defenders with starting experience. Leading the list is senior Simon Volk, who earned All-CCAA second-team honors in 2009. Anton Gunnarsson, who is a two-time All-CCAA selection and was the conference Freshman of the Year in 2007, also returns for his senior season. Junior Brennan Brodersen, who started 21 matches in 2009 and senior Tony Hernandez, who started 20 matches last season, are also back.
After opening the season with the home match against Biola, the Golden Eagles will begin CCAA play with road matches at UC San Diego and Cal State East Bay before returning home to face San Francisco State in a conference match on Sept. 17.