Wake Forest Athletics
Men's Soccer Rakes in Pre-Season Honors
8/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 15, 2007
Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Demon Deacons just began practice on Tuesday of this week, but Jay Vidovich's squad is already generating plenty of buzz over the upcoming season. Defender Julian Valentin garnered pre-season All-American honors, while the Deacs ranked fourth in College Soccer News' pre-season poll.
Valentin Recognized
Senior Valentin was picked for College Soccer News ' Pre-Season All America First Team. Valentin enters the 2007 season off an incredible run with the U-20 Men's National Team, including a victory over global powerhouse Brazil and a trip to the Elite 8.
During the 2006 Deacon season Valentin was one of three athletes to start all 25 games and earned ACC, Top Drawer Soccer and Soccer America Player of the Week honors for game winning goals vs. Connecticut and North Carolina. Following the Deacon's run to the College Cup, Valentin was named to the NSCAA's First Team All-South and Second Team All-America, took ACC First Team honors, named to ESPN's Academic All-District III team and earned a place on Soccer America's All-America First-Team.
Deacons Fourth in Pre-Season Poll
College Soccer News' listed WFU's experienced senior defenders (Julian Valentin, Pat Phelan, Brian Edwards - GK) and the squad's athletic frontline as the primary reasons for a fourth rank in the national pre-season poll.
In 2006 the Deacons found incredible regular season success and achieved the top national rank in several polls. The Deacs fell just short of the ACC Tournament Championship, dropping a hard fought 1-0 contest to Duke in the finals. The team followed with its best NCAA post-season finish to date, a trip the College Cup that ended with a shootout loss to UC Santa Barbara, who went on to become NCAA Champions, in the semifinals. "We learned some very important lessons during the post season," Vidovich said. "It wasn't how the guys wanted to finish and I know they are extremely eager to pick up where we left off and keep building from there." College Soccer News' Pre-Season Top 10
UCLA
Duke
Santa Barbara
Wake Forest
Santa Clara
Virginia
SMU
Indiana
Maryland
New Mexico
