Big South Announces 2021 Spring Men's Soccer Preseason Poll and Honors
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Two-time defending men’s soccer champion Campbell University has been voted the favorite in the annual Big South Conference preseason poll by the league’s head coaches, it was announced today by the Conference office. In addition, the coaches voted Campbell junior forward/midfielder Matt Lock (West Malling, England) the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Presbyterian College senior defender Luca Ziegler (Oberroth, Germany) was tabbed the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honoree.
The Camels, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, received six first-place votes and 76 total points to win the conference in the 2021 spring season. High Point was second in the voting with 70 points and one first-place vote, while Gardner-Webb placed third with 53 points and received a first-place nod. Presbyterian College collected 50 points to finish fourth in the poll for the third consecutive year. USC Upstate landed in the fifth position with 41 points, ahead of sixth-place Longwood (36 points, one first-place vote). Winthrop claimed seventh with 34 points, while Radford was eighth with 28 points. UNC Asheville finished in the final spot with 17 points.
Lock is the second Camel to be voted Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in three seasons. He is the Big South’s top returning scorer (19) and assists provider (7), and earned All-Conference honors in 2019. Last season, Lock tied for second in the conference in assists, tied for fourth in points and game-winning goals (2), and tied for fifth in goals scored (6). He scored Campbell’s first goal in its NCAA first round victory at No. 15 James Madison, and had the opening score in the Camels’ 4-1 Big South Championship win over High Point. A member of the 2018 Big South All-Freshman Team, Lock tallied an assist in Campbell’s NCAA Tournament contest at N.C. State. Lock topped the preseason Offensive Player of the Year voting with 19 points (five first-place votes). USC Upstate forward Pol Monells was runner-up with 15 points (three first-place votes).
Ziegler is the first Blue Hose to earn Big South Preseason Player of the Year honors. A two-time All-Conference selection in his career, Ziegler started all 20 games for Presbyterian last season and logged a team-high 1,838 minutes. He recorded seven points (two goals, three assists), and scored against both Mercer and South Carolina during the 2019 non-conference season. He also earned a spot on the Big South All-Tournament Team. Ziegler has started all 60 games during his time at PC, and helped the squad win its first Big South title as a freshman in 2017. He earned five first-place votes and 15 points in the preseason defensive voting, just ahead of High Point defender Karson Kendell (14 points and two first-place votes).
The 2021 men’s soccer spring season begins Sunday, Feb. 14, while conference play opens Sunday, Feb. 21. The top four teams in the final Big South standings will qualify for the 2021 Big South Men’s Soccer Championship, which is scheduled for April 14 (Semifinals) & April 17 (Championship Final). All games will be contested at the home site of the higher seed, with the champion receiving the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
2021 BIG SOUTH PRESEASON SPRING MEN’S SOCCER POLL
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - Campbell (6) |
76 |
| 2 - High Point (1) |
70 |
| 3 - Gardner-Webb (1) |
53 |
| 4 - Presbyterian College |
50 |
| 5 - USC Upstate |
41 |
| 6 - Longwood (1) |
36 |
| 7 - Winthrop |
34 |
| 8 - Radford |
28 |
| 9 - UNC Asheville |
17 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system, with first-place votes receiving 9 points, followed by 8 points for second-place, and so on.