ODU MEN'S SOCCER RANKED NINTH IN POLL

The Old Dominion men's soccer team is the ninth-ranked team in College Soccer News preseason poll. In what proves to be a very difficult 2004 schedule for the Monarchs, ODU will face three top-30 opponents, with two of the three being on the road.

The Monarchs will host No. 3 North Carolina at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, at the ODU Soccer Stadium, before traveling to Charlottesville Wednesday, Oct. 27 to face another ACC opponent, the University of Virginia. ODU will face No. 19 VCU Sunday, Oct. 3, at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond. ODU will face yet another top opponent in preseason action when they travel to Blacksburg on Saturday, Aug. 21, to take on No. 21 Virginia Tech.

The Monarchs will also face two schools outside of the Top 30 who received votes: Rutgers and George Mason. Rutgers will be a participant in the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic September 10-12, while George Mason comes to town on Sunday, Oct. 24, for a 2:30 match-up.

"This team has the ingredients to win a national title," College Soccer News reports. The Monarchs return four of their top five goal scorers from last season, as well as their entire backline, possibly led by All-American Trevor McEachron if he can recover from a knee injury in time to compete in 2004.