Dahn and Tibbling Named BIG EAST Preseason Players of the Year, Pirates Picked Second
8/18/2021 1:35:00 PM | Men's Soccer
South Orange, N.J. – The Seton Hall men's soccer team was picked second in the BIG EAST Conference Preseason Coaches Poll on Wednesday as the reigning BIG EAST champions were awarded 93 points including three first place votes. Additionally, senior CJ Tibbling (Jarna, Sweden) was selected as the conference's Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year while senior Luca Dahn (Kahl, Germany) was honored as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Both Tibbling and Dahn earned spots on the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad with Tibbling being a unanimous selection.
Georgetown took the top spot in the poll edging the Pirates by just five points while Creighton, the third team picked, was awarded 74 points. The Pirates wrapped up the 2020 season with a 10-2-4 mark culminating in a BIG EAST title and NCAA Tournament berth where they earned wins over Air Force and Virginia Tech before falling in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
Both Dahn and Tibbling are coming off 2020 Second Team All-America selections as well as First Team All-BIG EAST honors. On the offensive end, Tibbling led the Pirates with seven goals and 17 points on the season to go along with three assists. With his seven tallies, Tibbling ranked second in the BIG EAST and 20th in the country in goals scored.
The anchor of the Pirates defense, Dahn helped guide a back line that was the best in the BIG EAST at preventing shots on net and gave the Pirates a goal differential of +20, second best in the conference. In his first year in a Seton Hall uniform, Dahn logged over 1500 minutes for The Hall and was on the pitch for all but nine minutes throughout the campaign. Despite lining up as a center back, Dahn also scored twice for The Hall while registering 12 shots on net, second best on the team.
This is the first time a Pirate has appeared on the conference's Preseason All-BIG EAST Team since Samuel Geiler in 2014. The Pirates currently rank No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll and will open up their season on Aug. 26, against Temple at Owen T. Carroll Field.
BIG EAST Men's Soccer Preseason Honors
Preseason Co-Offensive Players of the Year
Diego Gutierrez, Creighton, Sr., F
CJ Tibbling, Seton Hall, Sr., F
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Luca Dahn, Seton Hall, Sr., D
Preseason Co-Goalkeepers of the Year
Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Men's Soccer Preseason All-BIG EAST
Wilmer Cabrera Jr., Butler, Jr., F
Diego Gutierrez, Creighton, Sr., F ^
CJ Tibbling, Seton Hall, Sr., F ^
Lukas Sunesson, Marquette, RS-Jr., F
Sean Zawadzki, Georgetown, Sr., M
Dante Polvara, Georgetown, Jr., M ^
Paulo Lima, Providence, Sr., M ^
Luca Dahn, Seton Hall, Sr., D
Rhys Myers, Butler, Grad, D
Ramzi Qawasmy, Providence, Sr., D
Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, Sr., GK
^ denotes unanimous selection
Georgetown took the top spot in the poll edging the Pirates by just five points while Creighton, the third team picked, was awarded 74 points. The Pirates wrapped up the 2020 season with a 10-2-4 mark culminating in a BIG EAST title and NCAA Tournament berth where they earned wins over Air Force and Virginia Tech before falling in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
Both Dahn and Tibbling are coming off 2020 Second Team All-America selections as well as First Team All-BIG EAST honors. On the offensive end, Tibbling led the Pirates with seven goals and 17 points on the season to go along with three assists. With his seven tallies, Tibbling ranked second in the BIG EAST and 20th in the country in goals scored.
The anchor of the Pirates defense, Dahn helped guide a back line that was the best in the BIG EAST at preventing shots on net and gave the Pirates a goal differential of +20, second best in the conference. In his first year in a Seton Hall uniform, Dahn logged over 1500 minutes for The Hall and was on the pitch for all but nine minutes throughout the campaign. Despite lining up as a center back, Dahn also scored twice for The Hall while registering 12 shots on net, second best on the team.
Taking home some BIG EAST preseason hardware🏆
— Seton Hall Men's Soccer (@SHUMSOC) August 18, 2021
⚽️𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰-𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳
⚽️𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳#HALLin 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/wS9eLlgUaD
This is the first time a Pirate has appeared on the conference's Preseason All-BIG EAST Team since Samuel Geiler in 2014. The Pirates currently rank No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll and will open up their season on Aug. 26, against Temple at Owen T. Carroll Field.
| Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll First Place votes in () |
|
| 1. Georgetown (8) | 98 points |
| 2. Seton Hall (3) | 93 |
| 3. Creighton | 74 |
| 4. Providence | 67 |
| 5. Marquette | 64 |
| 6. St. John's | 60 |
| 7. Butler | 55 |
| T8. UConn | 29 |
| T8. Xavier | 29 |
| 10. DePaul | 24 |
| 11. Villanova | 12 |
BIG EAST Men's Soccer Preseason Honors
Preseason Co-Offensive Players of the Year
Diego Gutierrez, Creighton, Sr., F
CJ Tibbling, Seton Hall, Sr., F
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Luca Dahn, Seton Hall, Sr., D
Preseason Co-Goalkeepers of the Year
Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Men's Soccer Preseason All-BIG EAST
Wilmer Cabrera Jr., Butler, Jr., F
Diego Gutierrez, Creighton, Sr., F ^
CJ Tibbling, Seton Hall, Sr., F ^
Lukas Sunesson, Marquette, RS-Jr., F
Sean Zawadzki, Georgetown, Sr., M
Dante Polvara, Georgetown, Jr., M ^
Paulo Lima, Providence, Sr., M ^
Luca Dahn, Seton Hall, Sr., D
Rhys Myers, Butler, Grad, D
Ramzi Qawasmy, Providence, Sr., D
Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, Sr., GK
^ denotes unanimous selection
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's SoccerSeton Hall Baseball vs. St. John's (Doubleheader Game 2)
Sunday, April 05
Seton Hall Baseball vs. St. John's (Doubleheader Game 1)
Sunday, April 05
Seton Hall Softball vs. Stony Brook
Wednesday, April 01
Seton Hall Softball vs. Saint Joseph's
Thursday, March 26
