Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Receives Fourth No. 1 Ranking
8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 26, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's soccer team picked up its fourth No. 1 ranking of the preseason on Tuesday when Soccer America tabbed the defending national champions as the top-ranked team in its preseason poll.
The Deacons have now received four No. 1 rankings in the preseason, already earning the top spot in preseason polls released by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and adidas, Soccer Times and CollegeSoccerNews.com.
Wake Forest completed a successful preseason last weekend defeating No. 20 Furman 1-0 in the team's exhibition finale. The Deacons opened the preseason with a 5-1 victory over Wofford.
Two other ACC teams join Wake Forest in the top 10 of the Soccer America poll. Maryland was picked fourth, while defending ACC Champion Boston College was tabbed seventh. Other ACC squads to make the top 25 include Virginia (18th), Virginia Tech (20th) and North Carolina (24th).
The complete Soccer America Preseason Poll follows:
1. Wake Forest
2. Connecticut
3. Indiana
4. Maryland
5. Santa Clara
6. Saint Louis
7. Boston College
8. South Florida
9. Creighton
10. Notre Dame
11. UCLA
12. Akron
13. Brown
14. SMU
15. Massachusetts
16. Harvard
17. Northwestern
18. Virginia
19. New Mexico
20. Virginia Tech
21. Illinois-Chicago
22. UC Santa Barbara
23. California
24. North Carolina
25. Central Connecticut State
Three Wake Forest Players Named All-Americans by CollegeSoccerNews.com: Cody Arnoux, Sam Cronin and Marcus Tracy were tabbed as preseason All-Americans by CollegeSoccerNews.com. Cronin and Tracy were named to the first team, while Arnoux was selected for the second team. All three players were recently selected to the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List.
Arnoux, a junior from Wilmington, N.C., led Wake Forest in goals and points in 2007 with 15 and 38, respectively. Arnoux started the 2008 season in similar fashion, scoring three times in Wake's two exhibition games, including providing the game-winner in each contest.
A senior from Winston-Salem, Cronin has started every game since he arrived at Wake Forest. In 2007, Cronin scored three goals and added eight assists for the Deacs. Soccer America tabbed Cronin First Team MVP after the 2007 season, while the NSCAA named Cronin a Second Team All-American.
Tracy finished the 2007 season second in goals (11), assists (9) and points (31). Tracy scored three second-half goals in Wake Forest's exhibition opener against Wofford. The Newtown, Conn. native was named Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the 2007 College Cup after scoring three goals, including two in Wake Forest's semifinal victory over Virginia Tech. Tracy was also named All-ACC Second Team in 2007.
Five Wake Forest Freshmen Named Players to Watch: Freshmen Sean Haglund, Nick Millington, Luke Norman, Sam Redmond and Danny Wenzel were named Freshmen to Watch by CollegeSoccerNews.com.
Haglund, a native of Raleigh, N.C. was a 2007 NSCAA High School All-American was twice named an adidas/ESP player. Haglund was also a member of the North Carolina Olympic Development Program that won the 2007 National ODP Championship.
Millington is a defender, also from Raleigh. Millington was tabbed as a Parade Magazine All-American in 2008 and was a member of the US U-17 Men's National Team that was the CONCACAF Qualifying champions.
Norman is a two-time NSCAA All-American, earning the recognition in 2007 and 2008. The midfielder/forward from Rochester, Mich. was also named an adidas/ESP All-Star in 2007 and 2008 and was a Parade Magazine All-American in 2008.
Redmond is currently a member of the North Carolina ODP and the Region 3 ODP. An Asheville, N.C. native, Redmond played for the US U-15 Men's National Team and has twice been named an adidas/ESP All-Star.
A defender from Federal Way, Wash., Wenzel has played for the US U-15 and U-17 Men's National Team. Wenzel was named an NSCAA All-American twice in his high school career.
Deacons open regular season this weekend: Wake Forest opens its regular season schedule on Friday at 5 p.m. (ET) against Virginia Commonwealth in the Nike Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill. The Deacs will face Florida International on Sunday at 2 p.m. (ET) on the final day of the Nike Carolina Classic.
-WakeForestSports.com-
