2018 Preseason All-PacWest Team
IRVINE, Calif. – Point Loma was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2018 PacWest men’s soccer championship, after a vote of the league’s head coaches released Tuesday. Coming off one of the best seasons in program history, including their first NCAA Championship appearance, the Seal Lions earned nine first-place votes and placed four players on the preseason all-conference team
Point Loma posted a 14-3-2 record in 2017, and was 11-0-2 in the PacWest. After losing their first two games of the season, the Sea Lions went on a 16-game unbeaten streak and won the final eight game of the regular season to set a school record for victories. Point Loma was the only PacWest team not to lose to conference champion CBU and earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA West Region.
Eight Sea Lions earned All-PacWest recognition, and Wiktor Lasota was the PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year and a D2CCA All-American. He returns for his senior season as the 2018 PacWest Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. He ranked 13th in the nation with eight shutouts, 14th in goals against average (.669) and 22nd in save percentage (.818).
In second place, Concordia recorded 128 points and two first-place votes. The Eagles finished fourth in the PacWest last season with 26 points and preseason-all-conference pick Connor Gordon returns from an injury-shortened 2017in which he registered four goals and an assist in the first three games
Notre Dame de Namur was picked third, taking the other first-place vote, and had Naia Graham and Moises Claudio named to the Preseason All-PacWest team. Claudio was selected as the Preseason Defender of the Year and is the lone All-PacWest First Team defender returning in 2018. The center back was tasked with marking the opponent’s best offensive threat, and held National Player of the Year Aidan Apodaca to three shots and no goals in their meeting.
Fresno Pacific took fourth place in the poll and Anthony Velarde was voted PacWest Preseason Player of the Year. A first-team All-PacWest and second-team D2CCA All-West Region member, he is the top-returning point scorer in the conference, registering 33 points on 10 goals and 13 assists as a junior. His 13 assists led the conference.
Azusa Pacific, Hawai’i Pacific and Biola followed in the poll, and rounded out the Preseason All-PacWest honors, with APU earning two and HPU and Biola one each.