Men’s Soccer Picked to End Third in the CACC

Men's Soccer | 8/7/2018 12:00:00 AM

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Goldey-Beacom's men's soccer team, defending champions of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, was picked to end third in the league based on a vote by the league's coaches.

GBC this season enters as the hunted, coming off its second CACC title and first trip to the NCAA Tournament. The squad (17-5-1, 9-2-1 CACC) upended 10th-ranked Merrimack in the first round, becoming the College's first male team to win a head-to-head NCAA Tournament game.

Goldey-Beacom broke the school record for most victories overall and in conference and played on a national stage for the first time since competing in the 2002 NAIA National Tournament. The Lightning also had a 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1) and a four-game shutout streak, both school records.

Goldey-Beacom once again will rely on senior midfielder Chahin Aghrim (Bonn, Germany) for a bulk of the offense. Once of the College's most gifted athletes with his speed and scoring touch, Aghrim closed first in the nation with 15 assists, eighth with 37 points and 45th with 11 goals to help the Lightning lead the country with 65 goals and 180 points.

Aghrim's play helped him to become the first student-athlete in school history in any sport to be named first team CCA All-America and first team CoSIDA Academic All-America. He also was tabbed first team all-league and to the CACC All-Tournament Team.

Senior goalkeeper Suhail Bismilla (Johannesburg, South Africa) has been tabbed first team all-conference each of the last two years and will look to make his final season his finest. A vocal leader and incredible spark plug for all of his teammates, the third team CoSIDA Academic All-America closed ninth in the country with 1,951 minutes, tied for 26th with seven shutouts, 17th with 91 saves, 40th with a .798 save percentage and 55th with a 1.06 goals against average.

Bismilla has a school-record 12 career shutouts and is fourth in team annals with 222 saves. He also was tabbed October's CACC Student-Athlete of the Month and the league's Top XVI Award winner for having the highest grade-point average among the student-athletes participating at the finals of each site for the CACC championships.

Goldey-Beacom, which received a league-high eight first-place votes, opens the season August 30 against the District of Columbia in Millersville, PA.

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference 2018 Men's Soccer Preseason Poll

1. Wilmington (DE)    149 pts. (1 first-place vote)
2. Jefferson               148 pts. (3)
3. Goldey-Beacom   147 pts. (8)
4. Bloomfield              124 pts.
5. Post                        111 pts. (1)
6. Georgian Court       107 pts.
7. Caldwell                  76 pts.
8. Nyack                      70 pts.
9. Dominican (NY)       63 pts.
10. Chestnut Hill          48 pts.
11. Holy Family           45 pts.
12. Felician                  44 pts.
13. Concordia (NY)     40 pts.

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Players Mentioned

#9 Chahin Aghrim: M; 5' 8"; Senior

#16 Suhail Bismilla: GK; 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#9 Chahin Aghrim
: 5' 8"; Senior
: M

#16 Suhail Bismilla
: 6' 0"; Senior
: GK

Players Mentioned

#9 Chahin Aghrim

#16 Suhail Bismilla

Players Mentioned

#9 Chahin Aghrim

#16 Suhail Bismilla