Aug. 11, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame junior Aaron Maund (Dorchester, Mass./The Roxbury Latin School), a central defender, has been named the BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year for men’s soccer in a vote by the league’s head coaches. Fighting Irish sophomore Dillon Powers (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior), a midfielder, joined Maund on the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team.
Notre Dame was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Blue Division, while Connecticut was tabbed to win the division. The Huskies received 12 first-place votes among the eight Blue Division squads, while the Irish garnered four. St. John’s was picked to win the Red Division. The league’s 16 head coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams.
Last season, the Fighting Irish posted an 8-3 league record to finish second behind Connecticut in the Blue Division. Notre Dame advanced to the final of the BIG EAST Championship before falling to St. John’s in a penalty kick shootout, 5-3, following a scoreless draw.
Notre Dame went 11-8-4 overall in 2009. The Irish qualified for their ninth straight NCAA Championship appearance and knocked off Green Bay, 2-1, in the first round before falling at Northwestern, 3-1, in the second round. Notre Dame returns five starters and 12 letter winners from last season’s squad.
Maund collected second-team all-BIG EAST accolades one season ago. He started all 18 matches that he was available to play for the Fighting Irish. Maund and Powers missed five games in September as they were competing with the United States Under-20 squad at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt.
Powers also played in 18 matches, including four starts, last season and earned BIG EAST All-Rookie honors. His five assists were the second most of any Notre Dame player during the 2009 campaign. Earlier this month, Powers was named the MVP of the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland as he helped the U.S. U-20s win the tournament title with a 3-0 record.
Louisville’s Colin Rolfe was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while USF’s Jeff Attinella was tabbed as the BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
The Fighting Irish will play host to UIC in an exhibition match at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Monday, Aug. 23 at Alumni Stadium. Notre Dame opens the 2010 regular season against UCLA on Friday, Sept. 3 at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind. Game time against the Bruins is slated for 5:00 p.m. (ET).
2010 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Preseason Poll BIG 2009Blue Division Points EAST Overall Finish1. Connecticut (12) 115 11-4-4 8-2-1 1st2. Notre Dame (4) 109 11-8-4 8-3-0 2nd3. West Virginia 88 7-5-6 6-3-2 3rd4. Georgetown 72 9-8-2 6-5-0 4th5. Providence 65 10-7-3 5-4-2 5th6. Seton Hall 55 4-10-3 1-7-3 7th7. Marquette 39 4-11-3 3-5-3 6th8. Pittsburgh 25 2-13-2 1-9-1 8th
BIG 2009Red Division Points EAST Overall Finish1. St. John's (8) 110 9-3-9 6-1-4 2nd2. Louisville (5) 105 13-3-4 8-2-1 1st3. USF (3) 102 14-4-3 6-3-2 3rd4. Villanova 65 9-8-2 5-5-1 4th5. Rutgers 64 9-10-0 5-6-0 6th6. DePaul 44 8-9-3 5-6-0 5th7. Syracuse 39 3-15-0 2-9-0 8th7. Cincinnati 39 8-10-0 3-8-0 7th(-) - Indicates first place votes
2010 Preseason All-BIG EAST Honors & Awards
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the YearColin Rolfe, Jr., F, Louisville
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the YearAaron Maund, Jr., D, Notre Dame
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the YearJeff Attinella, Sr., USF
All-BIG EAST Preseason TeamJeff Attinella, Sr., GK, USFBernardo Anor, R-Jr., M, USFTony Cascio, Jr., M, ConnecticutRaymon Gaddis, Jr., D, West VirginiaBrayan Martinez, Sr., F/M, Seton HallAaron Maund, Jr., D, Notre DameJaved Mohammed, Sr., D, USFDillon Powers, So., M, Notre Dame*Colin Rolfe, Jr., F, LouisvilleTadeu Terra, R-Sr., M, St. John'sSverre Wegge Gundhus, Sr., F/M, St. John's
* - unanimous selection