Loaded Cal State LA is Coaches' Favorite for CCAA Crown
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CALIFORNIA – The two-time reigning CCAA Tournament champion Cal State LA Golden Eagles top the 2019 CCAA Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league’s 13 head coaches.
Cal State LA earned eight first-place votes to total 140 points in the results. Defending CCAA regular-season and West Region champion Cal Poly Pomona takes up the second spot, with three first-place votes and 129 points. The Broncos have dropped the last two CCAA tournament finales to the Golden Eagles, both 2-0 in La Jolla, but have appeared in four consecutive NCAA West Region championship matches, winning three.
UC San Diego (113 points) and Cal State San Bernardino (106) each picked up one first-place nod for third and fourth, respectively. The expected six-team CCAA Tournament field is rounded out by Chico State (103) and Sonoma State (80). Cal State Dominguez Hills (75), Cal State San Marcos (70), San Francisco State (59), Cal State Monterey Bay (55), Humboldt State (42), Stanislaus State (26) and Cal State East Bay (16) fill out the listing.
Cal State LA remarkably returns all seven of its All-CCAA standouts in All-Americans Morten Bjoershol, Alexander Brems and Tim Klefisch, as well as Robin Lindahl, Leonardo Nogueira, Antonio Rosas and Carlos Zarate. Bjoershol was the 2018 CCAA Tournament Most Valuable Defensive Player, with Zarate the honoree on the offensive side. CCAA Newcomer of the Year Daniel Simonis is also back in a stacked lineup for head coach Chris Chamides.
Cal Poly Pomona will have All-CCAA First Team selections Cyro Oliveira and Jimmie Villalobos in midfield, but will have to replace All-American center back Nadeer Ghantous as first-year head coach Matt O’Sullivan takes charge of the Broncos.
UC San Diego will rely heavily on its speedy tandem up top of juniors Brett Jones and Jonathan Sabouri to make one last run at CCAA trophies in its 20th and final campaign as a conference member before joining Division I and the Big West Conference.
Darren Leslie, the 2018 CCAA Coach of the Year, faces the tall task of being without all-everything Danny Ortiz, last season’s CCAA Offensive Player of the Year. Chico State head coach Felipe Restrepo will have 2018 CCAA Freshman of the Year Eddie Zecena in his stable, with Sonoma State seeking a berth to round out the predicted postseason field after a two-year hiatus from the conference postseason bracket.
Cal Poly Pomona is rated No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches national preseason poll, with Cal State LA at No. 20.
Eight of the 13 teams open their respective 2019 campaigns on Thursday, Sept. 5, with the remaining five squads getting things going that same weekend. League activity kicks off on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 25, as San Francisco State heads north to take on Humboldt State.
For the third year in a row, after first round games are contested on campus sites, the final four teams will converge at Triton Soccer Stadium on the campus of UC San Diego for the final three matches of the 2019 CCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament, Nov. 15-17.
| 2019 CCAA Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (First place votes) |
| 1. |
Cal State LA |
140 (8) |
| 2. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
129 (3) |
| 3. |
UC San Diego |
113 (1) |
| 4. |
Cal State San Bernardino |
106 (1) |
| 5. |
Chico State |
103 |
| 6. |
Sonoma State |
80 |
| 7. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
75 |
| 8. |
Cal State San Marcos |
70 |
| 9. |
San Francisco State |
59 |
| 10. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
55 |
| 11. |
Humboldt State |
42 |
| 12. |
Stanislaus State |
26 |
| 13. |
Cal State East Bay |
16 |