WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's soccer team was picked first in the BIG EAST Conference Preseason Coaches Poll on Wednesday as the reigning league champions were awarded 81 points and all nine first place votes. Additionally the three captains all earned preseason honors. Senior
Dylan Nealis (Massapequa, N.Y. / Massapequa) was named the BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and junior
Derek Dodson (Aurora, Ill. / Waubonsie Valley) was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Senior forward Achara (Enugu, Nigeria / Berkshire School [Mass.]) earned a spot on the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad along with Nealis and Dodson.
Following Georgetown, Creighton was picked second with 68 points and Providence was a close third place pick with 65 points. Marquette was selected to finish fourth with 59 points and the remaining first place vote. Xavier rounds out the top five with 44 points. The second half of the league's preseason standings were Butler (40 points), St. John's (33 points), Seton Hall (28 points), DePaul (21 points) and Villanova (11 points).
Along with preseason player of the year honors, Nealis and Dodson were also the two lone unanimous selections to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team.
Nealis, a second-year captain, was already named to the 2019 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch List. He was the 2018 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, a First Team All-East Region selection and a First Team All-BIG EAST honoree. As a defender, Nealis was fourth on the team in scoring with two goals and a squad-best seven assists for 11 points. Those seven assists tied him for second in the BIG EAST. He tallied two game winners, and on the defensive end, helped the squad to a BIG EAST-best 10 shutouts for the year.
Dodson was a Second Team All-East Region and First Team All-BIG EAST selection. He led the Blue & Gray is scoring with 19 points on nine goals and one assist for the season, tying him for second in the BIG EAST. Dodson also tied Achara with four game winners on the year to lead the team and the BIG EAST.
Achara earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team as well as the All-East Region Second Team after an outstanding junior campaign. He was third on the team in scoring with seven goals and one assist for 15 points. His four game winners led the team and the league as well.
The Blue & Gray was the only group to have three players named All-BIG EAST. Georgetown, currently ranked No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, will open the season at home on August 30 against Syracuse. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
