Central Islip, N.Y. – The LIU Post
men’s soccer team has been picked as the favorite to capture
the ECC Championship in 2012 as voted upon by the league’s
coaches. Junior forward Cemil Turan (Staten Island, N.Y.)
from LIU Post was named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
and junior defender, Clayton Ulmer (Hamden, Conn.) from the
University of Bridgeport was voted the Preseason Defensive Player
of the Year.
Coming off a program record 17 wins in 2011, LIU Post claimed
seven first place votes and tallied 96 points to take the top spot
in the poll. The Pioneers finished with a 6-0-1 record in
conference play a season ago to capture the ECC Regular Season
Championship and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first
time since 2006. LIU Post also begins the 2012 slate ranked as the
No. 13 team in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America
national poll.
Defending ECC Champion, New York Institute of Technology, was the
runner up in the poll with 85 points and two first place votes.
Bridgeport rounds out the top three with 70 points.
St. Thomas Aquinas, a 2011 NCAA Tournament participant and
currently ranked No. 21 in the NSCAA Preseason Poll, grabbed the
final first place vote.
Turan was an offensive force for the Pioneers in 2011, scoring 14
goals and passing off 4 helpers for 32 points. He also tallied
seven game winning goals, helping him take home the ECC Offensive
Player of the Year Award. Turan earned numerous other awards for
his play in 2011, including being named a Third Team All-American
by the NSCAA.
Ulmer was a mainstay on the Purple Knights back line that allowed
only 1.42 goals per game. His outstanding play helped him earn the
ECC Defensive Player of the Year award as well as a spot on the
Daktronics All-America Second Team.
2012 ECC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
School | Points | 2011 Record |
1. LIU Post (7) | 96 | 17-3-1 |
2. NYIT (2) | 85 | 14-4-2 |
3. Bridgeport | 70 | 9-7-1 |
4. Dowling | 66 | 6-7-3 |
5. St. Thomas Aquinas (1) | 65 | 11-4-4 |
6. Queens | 51 | 7-8-4 |
7. District of Columbia | 36 | 8-5-4 |
8. Molloy | 33 | 2-14-1 |
9. Mercy | 32 | 6-10-1 |
10. Roberts Wesleyan | 16 | 11-10-1 |
( ) - first place votes