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CMU men’s, women’s soccer ranked third in preseason polls

Posted 8/16/22

Both Central Methodist soccer teams landed at No. 3 in the preseason edition of the NAIA Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 polls, announced by the national office last week.

Both teams concluded …

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CMU men’s, women’s soccer ranked third in preseason polls

Posted

Both Central Methodist soccer teams landed at No. 3 in the preseason edition of the NAIA Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 polls, announced by the national office last week.

Both teams concluded their 2021 seasons with deep postseason to the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournaments.

The men’s team is coming off another successful campaign, including a 22-1 overall record and a 12-0 mark in conference play a year ago. The Eagles claimed their fourth-consecutive Heart regular-season championship and third-straight Heart tournament title. In addition, CMU boasted several notable Top 25 wins, highlighted by a 2-1 double-overtime victory against No. 2 Oklahoma Wesleyan. 

CMU also reached the NAIA National semifinals for the fourth consecutive season. Central will return three NAIA All-Americans from the 2021 squad, including Alessandro Salvadego (1st Team), Basil Erne (Honorable Mention), and Jesse Bank (Honorable Mention). 

Salvadego will lead the offensive push for Central. The reigning Heart Player and Offensive Player of the Year, he tied the single-season program record in goals scored (23), and tied for the team lead with eight assists last season. He finished the year with 51 total points, the best in all of the NAIA. 

Other Heart men’s programs featured in the Top 25 include No. 6 Missouri Valley, No. 9 MidAmerica Nazarene, and No. 24 Grand View. William Penn is received votes. 

The Eagles will open the 2022 regular season on the road against No. 11 Tulsa on Friday, August 19. The kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

The CMU women also return to the field ranked No. 3 after recording one of the best finishes in program history. The Lady Eagles sweeping the regular season and conference tournament titles, and matched the school record for single-season wins (22), and tallied a program best 19 shut outs.

In addition, they made their deepest postseason run ever, appearing in their first NAIA National Championship Semifinal match. The highlight of the postseason for the Eagles was a 2-0 shutout of the two-time defending national champions, Keiser, in the national quarterfinals.

This season, Central will return four NAIA All-Americans including, Sandra Jakobsen (1st Team), Laura Riesenbeck (2nd Team), Alicia Zamora (3rd Team), and Marcella Helena (3rd Team).

Jakobsen, the reigning Heart Player and Offensive Player of the Year, will lead the offensive push for Central. Riesenbeck, the two-time reigning Heart Defensive Player of the Year, will anchor CMU's defensive backline.

Other Heart programs featured in the Top 25 include No. 21 Missouri Valley, and No. 22 Benedictine.

The Eagles will kick off their season with a non-conference matchup against Southwestern Christian at home on Saturday, August 20. The kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Davis Field.

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