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Text Box: St. John's - Pre-season #3 Coach - Dave Masur - Begins 13th season at St. John's. Under his leadership the Red Storm have earned a berth in the last 11 NCAA Tournaments. They have advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tourney for the past seven straight years. Masur was an All-American sweeper as a player at Rutgers. Conference - Big East 2002 overall record - 13-3-5; 2002 conference record - 7-2-2 2002 goals scored - 31; 2002 goals allowed - 11 2002 NCAA Tourney results - Defeated FDU 2-1, lost to Creighton 1-0. Key player losses from 2002 season: Defender Rich Bradley, midfielders Alberto Duenas and Patrick Lonergan Overall strength in 2003 - Team defense, solid in goal, well organized, focused, and athletic. 2003 Up Top - Junior Andre Schmid (7g, 2a), Simone Salinno (2g, 6a) and Angel Rodriguez (3g, 1a) are among returning forwards. Junior Chris Corcoran (6g, 3a) is a very talented player who will contribute to the attack up-top or in the midfield. Freshman Georgios Spanos may contribute immediately. 2003 Midfield - Looks solid. Jeff Carroll and Matia Damiani among core of returning players. Jean Camere should also be in the mix. 2003 Backline - The Red Storm are a defensive minded team. All-American Chris Wingert anchors what should be a very strong Red Storm backline. Junior Chris Leidner also returns. 2003 Goalkeeper - Athletic, tenacious and composed. Senior Bill Gaudette is back between the pipes. Gaudette was outstanding between the pipes for the Red Storm last year. Unanswered intangible question - Will this St. John's team have the intensity and team chemistry that prior teams have had? The Red Storm will have to gel early as they begin the season by traveling to Winston Salem, North Carolina to face North Carolina and Wake Forest from the Atlantic Coast Conference and then travel to highly touted Notre Dame to begin Big East Conference play. Coach Masur's comment - "Our season is built for the long haul, and we need to continue to focus and keep our concentration. It's been ingrained in them that it's a process, and we need to stay with this process." Recruiting class - Ranked by College Soccer News as the 26th best recruiting class in the country. Miscellaneous - The Red Storm led the nation in goals against average in 2002 with a 0.44 mark. St. John's had 144 corner kicks last year as compared to only 48 for their opponents. Player who makes it happen - Senior defender/midfielder Chris Wingert and senior goalkeeper Bill Gaudette. Key Games - North Carolina (8/29), Wake Forest (8/30), Notre Dame (9/06), Rutgers (9/10), Syracuse (9/20), Seton Hall (9/24), William and Mary (9/27), San Diego (10/05) St. John's Web Site

Text Box: Wake Forest - Pre-season #4 Coach - Jay Vidovich - Enters 10th season at Wake Forest with overall record of 105-58-17. He was named the 2002 ACC Coach of the Year. Conference - Atlantic Coast 2002 overall record - 15-2-4; 2002 conference record - 4-0-2 2002 goals scored - 54; 2002 goals allowed- 13 2002 NCAA Tourney results - Defeated ODU 1-0, lost to Clemson 2-1 Key player losses from 2002 season: Midfielders Brian Carrol and Bobby Gehring Overall strength in 2003 - Ten starters return. Motivated, very experienced and composed. Balanced attack with solid backline and excellent goalkeeper. 2003 Up Top - Quick, decisive, and very athletic. Jeremiah White is a prime timer up-top. Going into the 2003 season he is Wake Forest's 3rd best goal scorer. Scott Sealy is also a proven finisher. Adam Hakes, Marcellus Tennyson, and Tomy Szczypiorski give the Deacons a deep and skilled group of forwards. 2003 Midfield - Deep with excellent ball control skills. Vincente Bastidas is the team quarterback. Amir Lowery, Ryan Caugherty, Ryan Alexander, and Justin Moose are all outstanding linkmen. Freshmen Ryan Solle and Steven Curfman are among those who add depth and balance. 2003 Backline - All four starters return. Wiggy Saunders, Kelvin Jones, James Riley and Michael Parkhurst could prove to be the strongest backline in the country. 2003 Goalkeeper - All-American William Hesmer returns. A talented competitor who is experienced, agile, and composed. Vidovich states "William has progressed every year. He could be a driving force behind our success this year." Brad McEachern is the backup netminder. Unanswered intangible question - The Deacons were ranked as the number one team in the country last year and they earned the number one seed in the 2002 NCAA Tourney. The Demon Deacons will enter the 2003 season with a high national ranking, an extremely tough schedule, and a target on their back. How will Wake Forest respond? Coach Vidovich's comment - Vidovich says the season can take one of two paths. "The first path is where we are complacent and we take last year's successes for granted. The second path is where everyone works hard, we get great team leadership and we have a great team atmosphere." Recruiting class - An outstanding nine member recruiting class that is ranked by College Soccer News as the 7th best recruiting class in the country. Miscellaneous - Wake Forest was undefeated at the end of regular season play last year but suffered their first loss of the season in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament when they were upset 1-0 by Virginia. Wake Forest has earned a total of 7 NCAA berths including 3 berths out of the past four years. Player who makes it happen - Senior Vincente Bastidas makes it happen in the midfield. Senior forward Jeremiah White is a tough competitor with the ability to produce the big play when needed. He will set the pace for the team. Key Games - Connecticut (8/29), St. John's (8/30), Virginia (9/13), ODU (9/19), Maryland (9/27), Clemson (10/19), North Carolina (10/25), Duke (10/31), Davidson (11/4), UNC-G (11/8) Wake Forest's Web Site