Men's Soccer Picked Third as Two Musketeers Earn Preseason All-BIG EAST Honors

NEW YORK – Xavier men's soccer was picked to finish third as Simen Hestnes and Cameron Taylor were recognized as preseason All-BIG EAST honorees on Wednesday.

It's the third time in six seasons that XU has had multiple players honored in the preseason. The Musketeers have had five selections in the last three years.

As a team, Xavier placed third with 60 points for its highest-ever preseason league ranking. XU has been picked as high as fourth in the 2016 preseason poll.

Hestnes and Taylor, both All-BIG EAST Second Team selections in 2017, both return for their senior seasons after helping the Musketeers to an 11-6-3 record and a trip to the BIG EAST Championships title match a year ago.

Hestnes, a midfielder, is XU's leading returning scorer after posting 21 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in his first year with the program after transferring from LIU Brooklyn.

Taylor, a defender, put up 16 points (6 goals, 4 assists) and was a dangerous weapon on set pieces all season.

The Musketeers continue preseason action on Friday, traveling to Ft. Wayne, Ind. to face No. 7 Michigan State. XU opens its regular season on Friday, Aug. 24 hosting Cincinnati Christian at 7 p.m. at XU Soccer Complex.

COACHES POLL

1. Georgetown (7) - 79
2. Butler (3) - 73
3. Xavier - 60
T4. Creighton - 54
T4. Providence - 54
6. Marquette - 37
7. St. John's - 33
8. Villanova - 31
9. Seton Hall - 20
10. DePaul - 9

PRESEASON HONORS

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Brandon Guhl, Butler, Jr., F

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Brendan McDonough, Georgetown, Sr., D

Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
^ Colin Miller, Providence, RS-Sr., GK

2018 Men's Soccer Preseason All-BIG EAST #
^ Brandon Guhl, Butler, Jr., F
Derek Dodson, Georgetown, So., F/M
Achara, Georgetown, Jr., F
Luka Prpa, Marquette, Jr., M
Simen Hestnes, Xavier, Sr., M
Danny Griffin, Providence, Jr., M
Joel Rydstrand, Creighton, Sr., M
Jared Timmer, Butler, RS-Jr., M
^ Brendan McDonough, Georgetown, Sr., D
^ Joe Moulden, Butler, Sr., D
Cameron Taylor, Xavier, RS-Sr., D
^ Colin Miller, Providence, RS-Sr., GK

^ - denotes unanimous selection
# there is an extra player on the preseason All-BIG EAST team due to a tie in voting

PAST HONOREES

Preseason All-BIG EAST Selections

YEAR	NAME
2013	Matt Walker, Nick Hagglund
2014	Will Walker
2015	Cory Brown
2016	Cory Brown (DPOY), Matt Vasquenza
2017	Cory Brown (DPOY)
2018	Simen Hestnes, Cameron Taylor

PAST PRESEASON POLLS

YEAR	RANK (1st Place Votes)	ACTUAL FINISH
2013	5th	4th
2014	7th	2nd
2015	4th	4th
2016	4th (1)	5th
2017	6th	4th
2018	3rd

AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE

• Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in four of the last eight seasons.
• The Musketeers have won 10 or more matches in seven of the last eight seasons.
• Xavier was the only program in the nation with five consecutive major conference awards from 2012-16, including 2016 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Cory Brown.
• XU has qualified for five consecutive BIG EAST Championships, including trips to the title game in 2014 and 2017.
• XU has been ranked in the nation's top-10 three times in the last six years by the United Soccer Coaches.
• In 2015, XU knocked off the national No. 1 (Creighton) and No. 2 (Notre Dame) on the road last season. The Musketeers are widely believed to be the first program to ever knock off both a No. 1 and a No. 2 on the road in the same season.
• Four XU players have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft in the last seven years, including 2018 third rounder Cory Brown.

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