Samuel Geiler Named Preseason All-BIG EAST
8/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
NEW YORK -
The Seton Hall University men’s soccer team was selected to finish ninth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll and sophomore midfielder Samuel Geiler (Offenburg, Germany) was named Preseason All-BIG EAST, it was announced Tuesday afternoon by the league office.
Seton Hall, which was 7-9-2 overall and tied for eighth in the BIG EAST with a 3-6-0 conference record in 2013, returns nine starters and 21 letterwinners from last year’s squad, a core group that features five of the team’s top seven offensive threats from last season.
Geiler burst onto the scene to lead the Pirates in scoring during his rookie season, tallying eight goals with four assists to finish with 20 points while starting all 18 games at the midfield. He scored three goals during his first week as a collegiate player, leading to BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and Big AppleSoccer.Com Men’s College Player of the Week accolades in early September.
During conference action, Geiler finished with a pair of goals and two assists for eight points, to rank second on the team in scoring, which resulted in a spot on the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.
The Pirates received 19 points in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll, placing just four points behind Villanova, and ahead of DePaul.
Georgetown and defending BIG EAST Champion Marquette both recorded 75 points to sit atop the preseason poll, with Georgetown receiving five of the 10 first-place votes to grab the top position.
The other first-place vote went to Creighton, which stands in third place with 63 points, followed by St. John’s (54 points), Providence (48 points), Butler (43 points) and Xavier (38 points).
Georgetown and Marquette captured the three preseason individual honors, with the Hoyas boasting the preseason Offensive Player of the year in junior Brandon Allen, in addition to Goalkeeper of the Year, Thomas Gomez. Marquette’s Axel Sjoberg, was tabbed as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
In addition to its top scorer from 2013, Seton Hall welcomes back the leading assist man in redshirt senior Victor Manosalvas (Clifton, N.J.), who had a team-high five assists in 18 starts at center midfield.
Senior Kai Greene (South Orange, N.J.) and redshirt sophomore Danny Bartok (Union, N.J.) both scored a pair of goals for the Pirates last season, as did senior midfielder Konrad Plewa (Maniowy, Poland), who returns to the pitch after being forced to miss the final 11 games of the season due to injury.
Along the back line, senior captain Mateusz Brela (Kielce, Poland) and junior Julian Kennedy (Nindorf, Germany) have both started every game at defensive back for the Pirates dating back to the 2012 season.
Sophomore Julian Spindler (Weiersbach, Germany) started 17 of SHU’s 18 matches a year ago, posting a pair of shutouts with a 1.93 goals against average.
Seton Hall hosts a pair of exhibition matchups prior to the start of regular season action at the University of Rhode Island on Friday, Aug. 29. The Pirates welcome Rider to Owen T. Carroll Field tonight at 7 p.m., and host Bloomfield College on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 1 p.m.
| 2014 Preseason Coaches’ Poll | ||
| 1. | Georgetown (5) | 75 |
| 2. | Marquette (4) | 75 |
| 3. | Creighton (1) | 63 |
| 4. | St. John's | 54 |
| 5. | Providence | 48 |
| 6. | Butler | 43 |
| 7. | Xavier | 38 |
| 8. | Villanova | 23 |
| 9. | SETON HALL | 19 |
| 10. | DePaul | 12 |
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – Brandon Allen, Georgetown, Jr., F
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Axel Sjöberg, Marquette, R-Jr., D
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year – Tomas Gomez, Georgetown, Sr.
Preseason All-BIG EAST *
Brandon Allen, Georgetown, Jr., F ^
Louis Bennett II, Marquette, So., M
Samuel Geiler, Seton Hall, So., M
David Goldsmith, Butler, So., F
Tomas Gomez, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Julian Gressel, Providence, So., F
Alex Muyl, Georgetown, So., F
C. Nortey, Marquette, R-Jr., F ^
Tim Parker, St. John’s, Sr., D ^
Timo Pitter, Creighton, Jr., M
Jose Ribas, Creighton, Sr., D
Axel Sjöberg, Marquette, R-Jr., D ^
Zach Steinberger, Butler, Sr., M
Will Walker, Xavier, R-Sr., M
Joshua Yaro, Georgetown, So., D
* - Five forwards and five midfielders because of ties in the voting
^ - unanimous selection
