Wake Forest Athletics
Five Demon Deacons Ranked in TDS Preseason Top 100
8/16/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug 16, 2013
Complete Rankings at TopDrawerSoccer.com
By Steven Wright, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMSoccer)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Five Wake Forest men's soccer players have been ranked in TopDrawerSoccer's Preseason National Top 100, including Jalen Robinson, Luca Gimenez, Sean Okoli, Jared Watts and Michael Gamble.
Robinson is ranked 26th, Gimenez is ranked 34th, Okoli is ranked 40th, Watts is ranked 58th and Gamble is ranked 74th.
The five Demon Deacons are part of the 18 Atlantic Coast Conference players included in the Top 100. In terms of ACC players only, Robinson is ranked 6th, Gimenez is ranked 7th, Okoli is ranked 10th, Watts is ranked 12th and Gamble is ranked 16th.
Robinson was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team a year ago and was also named First Team on TopDrawerSoccer's Freshman Team and Second Team on College Soccer News All-Freshman list. He played in 18 games and made 17 starts in the center back and helped the Demon Deacons post seven shutouts on the year. Robinson also scored two goals and had one assist.
Gimenez is embarking on his final season at Wake Forest and has already scored 18 goals and dished out six assists in his first three seasons. The Brazilian earned Second Team All-ACC honors in 2012, was an All-ACC Tournament selection in 2011 and was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2010. He also recorded his first hat trick last season at Virginia Tech and was awarded ACC Player of the Week honors on Oct. 1.
After scoring four goals as a freshman, Okoli had a breakout season last year with 11 goals to lead the Demon Deacons. He was named Second Team All-ACC and earned ACC Player of the Week honors on two separate occasions, once for tallying a hat trick against NC State. Okoli also All-ACC Freshman Team accolades in 2011 and has started 35 games in his first two seasons at Wake Forest.
Watts has been the most decorated Deacon in terms of ACC awards over the past two seasons, as he has been named First Team All-ACC in both 2011 and 2012. He also was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2010. Last season, Watts had his best offensive year to date, scoring a pair of goals and dishing out four assists for eight points.
Gamble, like Robinson, also made an immediate impact for Wake Forest, as he was second on the team last year with eight goals. He also added four assists for 20 points. Gamble earned All-ACC Freshman honors and was named Second Team to both TopDrawerSoccer's and College Soccer News' All-Freshman lists.
