ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum men's soccer team was picked to finish second in the South Atlantic Conference for the 2017 season, the conference office announced Monday. Voting was conducted by the league's 11 head coaches.
The Pioneers placed four players on the preseason All-Conference team, after the quartet helped Tusculum to its second SAC Championship tournament title in the last three years and a 16-4 overall record. The Pioneers finished second in the SAC with an 8-3 record and won two of their three conference tournament matches in overtime to earn the program's SAC-record sixth tournament championship.
Tusculum is ranked 23rd in the United Soccer Coaches preseason Division II Top 25 after being ranked 24th in the final poll last season. During the 2016 season, the Pioneers were ranked as high as seventh in the national poll.
Earning first-team preseason All-SAC honors is sophomore defender Georgios Charkoutsakis, while senior forward Andreas Kvam, sophomore midfielder Ivan Andabak and sophomore defender Pau Peiro each earned second-team preseason All-Conference accolades.
Charkoutsakis, a native of Heraklion, Greece, played every second of game action for the Pioneers last season and contributed three goals and three assists for nine points, ranking fourth on the team in both goals and points. A second-team All-SAC selection, Charkoutsakis scored in double overtime as the Pioneers beat Mars Hill 3-2 in the SAC Championship tournament quarterfinals.
Kvam was named second-team All-SAC last season after ranking second on the team with six goals and 14 points despite coming off the bench in all 18 of his appearances. Kvam, a native of Valderoey, Norway, was named honorable mention All-SAC in 2015 and was the SAC Championship tournament Most Valuable Player in 2014. In 44 career matches, Kvam has 18 goals and five assists for 41 points.
Andabak appeared in 16 matches as a freshman, making 14 starts, and contributed one goal and one assist. Andabak, a native of Solin, Croatia, scored his only goal of the season in a 4-1 win over Brevard on Oct. 12.
Peiro, a native of Miramar, Spain, made 19 starts on defense for the Pioneers last season and helped the team record a total of six shutouts. He also had an assist on the first goal of the game in a 2-0 win over Coker on Oct. 25.
Defending NCAA Division II national champion Wingate captured 10 first-place votes and 100 points to earn the top spot in the poll, followed by Tusculum (86 points), Lenoir-Rhyne (82), Lincoln Memorial (76) and Catawba (58) in the top five. The rest of the poll consists of Carson-Newman in sixth with 47 points, followed by Mars Hill (38 points), Queens (37), Coker (36), Anderson (29) and Newberry (12).
The Pioneers play their season opener on Saturday, Sept. 2 when they host Barton for a non-conference match starting at 5 p.m. at Pioneer Field.
2017 SAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
Rk School (1st) Pts
1. Wingate (10) 100
2. Tusculum (1) 86
3. Lenoir-Rhyne 82
4. Lincoln Memorial 76
5. Catawba 58
6. Carson-Newman 47
7. Mars Hill 38
8. Queens 37
9. Coker 36
10. Anderson 29
11. Newberry 12
Preseason All-League
First Team All-Conference
F – Ismael Noumansana, Lenoir-Rhyne
F – Elma N'For, Wingate
F – Jon Ander, Wingate
F – Victor Peres, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Marc Fernandez, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Jens Roessler, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Danilo da Silva, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Tom Read, Carson-Newman
D – Georgios Charkoutsakis, Tusculum
D – Oscar Mitchell, Mars Hill
D – Vicente Munoz, Wingate
D – Damian Gaona, Wingate
GK – Pablo Jara, Wingate
Second Team All-Conference
F – Stian Sanner, Mars Hill
F – Jacob Simonis, Coker
F – Aladdin Elfares, Coker
F – Andreas Kvam, Tusculum
MF – Henrique Rezek, Lincoln Memorial
MF – David Fairgrieve, Wingate
MF – Mateo Correa, Wingate
MF – Ivan Andabak, Tusculum
D – Ronaldo de Jesus, Lincoln Memorial
D – Pau Peiro, Tusculum
D – Josh Calabria, Anderson
D – Claus Lehland, Newberry
GK – Joe Boyd, Carson-Newman
