Virginia Wesleyan Picked to Repeat in ODAC Men’s Soccer Poll

SALEM , VA. – Virginia Wesleyan College has been picked to repeat as Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men’s soccer champions in a poll voted on by the league’s head coaches.

The Marlins earned seven of a possible 10 first-place votes and totaled 96 points overall. VWC went 17-4-0 overall and 8-1 in the league, capturing both the ODAC regular season and tournament championships in 2003.

Head coach Sonny Travis returns 2003 ODAC Player-of-the-Year Kelvin Murray in 2004. A rising junior, Murray led the Marlins with 44 points on 15 goals and 14 assists last season. He finished first in the conference in points per game (2.44), assists per game (0.78) and second in goals per game with 0.83 per contest.

The Maroons of Roanoke College are ranked second with two first-place votes and a total of 90 points. RC finished 2003 with an overall record of 10-4-3 overall and 6-2-1 in the ODAC.

Washington and Lee University garnered 72 points to earn third-place in the poll. The Generals finished last season with a 7-6-4 overall record and a 3-4-2 mark in the ODAC. W&L entered the conference tournament as the No. 7 seed and advanced all the way to the championship game before falling to VWC 3-1.

Randolph-Macon earned a total of 58 points to earn its fourth-place slot. Bridgewater College (53 points), Eastern Mennonite (53 points), Guilford College (47 points), Hampden Sydney (44 points, one first-place vote), Lynchburg College (31 points) and Emory and Henry (12 points) rounded out the poll.

The top eight teams advance to the 2004 ODAC Men’s Soccer Tournament which begins quarterfinal play on Saturday, October 30th, with the semifinals and finals to follow November 5-6.

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