Carnegie Mellon Men’s Soccer Picked Third in UAA

Aug. 22 - (ROCHESTER, N.Y.) The Carnegie Mellon University Tartans have been picked third in the 2006 University Athletic Association (UAA) men’s soccer preseason poll. The voting was conducted among the league’s head coaches.

The University of Rochester and Emory University share the top spot as favorites to contend for the 2006 Association Championship. Both teams, NCAA Division III Championship qualifiers last fall, tallied 44 points in the rankings.

Rochester, the defending UAA Champion with a perfect 7-0-0 record and a 16-1-0 overall mark (losing to St. Lawrence University in the second round of NCAA tournament play), claimed four first place votes, while Emory (4-3-0 UAA - third place, 15-4-0 overall) earned three first-place votes.

The Tartans and the University of Chicago, who both also qualified for NCAA Division III tournament play, were the coaches' choice to finish third and fourth, respectively. Both teams finished tied for second place in last year's association standings. The Tartans (5-2-0 UAA, 13-3-1 overall), Association Champions from 2000 to 2004, collected 41 points, picking up the remaining first-place vote, while the Maroons (5-2-0 UAA, 14-5-1 overall) finished with 31 points. Rounding out the remaining teams in the rankings order, are Washington University (23 points), New York University (20 points), Brandeis University (11 points) and Case Western Reserve University (10 points).

The Tartans will open up regular season play September 2 as they host Geneva College at 7:30 p.m. on the resurfaced playing field of Gesling Stadium. League play starts September 30 when the Tartans travel to the University of Chicago for a 1:30 p.m. start.

The complete 2006 UAA Coaches Poll can be found below.

School - Points
1. Rochester - 44
    Emory - 44
3. Carnegie Mellon - 41
4. Chicago - 31
5. Washington - 23
6. NYU - 20
7. Brandeis - 11
8. Case - 10