PEORIA, Ill. – The Bradley Soccer
team begins preparation for its 26th season Wednesday with the start of
preseason training camp, and a roster that includes 12 newcomers will open the
season ranked 25th nationally by the National Soccer Coaches Association of
America.
The
NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Men's Soccer National Preseason Rankings
were released Tuesday and the Braves checked in at No. 25. The preseason poll also included a pair of
2012 Bradley opponents: Creighton (Oct.
20) is preseason No. 3, while Northwestern (Oct. 3) is preseason No. 20.
While
17th-year head coach Jim DeRose will
be working the 12 newcomers into the lineup, he also welcomes back 13 lettermen
and four redshirts from the 2011 squad that posted a 15-6-2 overall record and advanced
to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after earning consecutive trips to
the postseason for the first time in program history.
DeRose
and his dozen rookies have a core group of veterans to lean on for
leadership. The defense is anchored by
junior goalkeeper Brian Billings (Apple
Valley, Minn./Shattuck-St. Mary's), while senior forward Jochen Graf (Double Oak, Texas/Faustina
Academy) is the team's top returning scorer.
Billings
has started 40 games between the pipes the last two seasons and enters the 2012
campaign third in program history with a 0.797 career saves percentage, a 1.12
career goals against average and a 0.613 career winning percentage (22-13-5). Named to the MVC All-Tournament team in each
of his first two years, Billings was a second-team All-Missouri Valley
Conference selection and a third-team NSCAA All-Midwest Region pick in 2011.
Billing
is supported by an experienced back line, which will return seniors Tapiwa Machingauta (Marondera, Zimbabwe)
and Matt Kuehl (South Beloit,
Ill./Hononegah H.S.), as well as junior Jason Coon (Charleston, Ill./Charleston H.S.), who was an honorable
mention All-MVC pick last year.
Graf
also was an honorable mention All-MVC selection in 2011 after tying for second
on the team with four goals and finishing third with 11 total points. Including a goal and an assist during Bradley's
2011 NCAA Tournament run, Graf is the team's active career leader with 28
points, eight goals and 12 assists.
The
Braves will host a pair of preseason events, beginning with the annual
Red-White Scrimmage Saturday at 7 p.m. at Peoria Notre Dame High School. The soccer exhibition game versus Dayton
(7:30 p.m. kickoff) will be the featured attraction of the Bradley Community
Night event Tuesday at McClallen Park in Morton. Admission to both preseason events is free.
