Louisville Men’s Soccer Picked to Win ACC Atlantic Division

Mark BlankenbakerAugust 19, 2014

Entering its inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Louisville men’s soccer team was chosen on Tuesday as the favorite to win the Atlantic Division by the league’s head coaches.

Reigning national champion Notre Dame was tabbed as the team to beat in the ACC and in the Coastal Division in a vote of the 12 conference head coaches. The Irish were named by six coaches as favorite to win the league championship, followed by Virginia with three first-place votes, North Carolina with two and Louisville with one.

With 64 points, Notre Dame was named by six coaches as the favorite in the Coastal Division, edging out 2013 Men’s College Cup participant Virginia, which had four first-place votes and 62 points. North Carolina (53 points) received two nods for the division and was picked third, followed by Duke (37), Virginia Tech (23), and Pitt (13).

Louisville received nine of a possible 12 first-place votes while totaling 69 total points overall as the Atlantic Division favorite. Wake Forest (57 points) and Clemson (50) both collected first-place votes and are followed in the poll by NC State (30), Boston College (26) and Syracuse (20).

A national-best six ACC squads earned NCAA bids in 2013. Three advanced to the NCAA College Cup, marking the 13th straight year with at least one league team in the semifinals. Notre Dame’s championship marked the sixth title by an ACC team in the last nine years and the 16th in league history.

The 2014 season, which gets underway on Friday, Aug. 29, marks the first for the league under a divisional format. Each team will play every other squad in its division, plus three crossover games. The two division winners are guaranteed one of the top two seeds for the ACC Championship.

The 10-team ACC Championship will be held in early November, with first round games slated for Wednesday, Nov. 5, quarterfinals for Sunday, Nov. 9, semifinals on Friday, Nov. 14, and the championship on Sunday, Nov. 16. The first round and quarterfinals will be held at campus sites, with the semifinals and final at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

Louisville will conduct its third and final preseason match on Saturday at 4 p.m., ET at Michigan. The 14th-ranked Cardinals will open the 2014 season against No. 2 Maryland in the debut of Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium on Aug. 29 at 8 p.m.

Fans can follow Louisville men’s soccer on Twitter (@UofLmenssoccer) at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.

2014 ACC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll

(first-place votes)

Overall Champion

Notre Dame (6)

Virginia (3)

North Carolina (2)

Louisville (1)

Atlantic Division

1. Louisville (9) – 69

2. Wake Forest (2) – 57

3. Clemson (1) – 50

4. NC State – 30

5. Boston College – 26

6. Syracuse – 20

Coastal Division

1. Notre Dame (6) – 64

2. Virginia (4) – 62

3. North Carolina (2) – 53

4. Duke – 37

5. Virginia Tech – 23

6. Pitt – 13

Single Game, Season Tickets on Sale

Single game tickets for Louisville’s highly anticipated debut season at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium and in the Atlantic Coast Conference are available for purchase through the UofL Ticket Office. Tickets for each of the Cardinals’ first two matches on Friday, Aug. 29 against No. 2 Maryland (8 p.m., ET) and on Friday, Sept. 5 (8 p.m.) against Cornell can be purchased online through My Cardinal Account at https://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/home.htmI?team=uofl. Ticket prices are $12 for reserved chairback seats (preferred seating) and $9 for general admission berm and bleacher seats. On both Aug. 29 and Sept. 5, the men’s games will be preceded by women’s games and tickets will provide admission to both matches each day.

Single game tickets for each of the Cardinals’ 11 regular season matches at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium this fall are currently on sale and can be purchased in person through the UofL Ticket Office at Gate 2 of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. More information on Louisville men’s soccer single game tickets is available online at http://www.gocards.com/tickets/lou-tickets-soccer.html or by calling (502) GO-CARDS.

Season tickets, which will provide admission to both men’s and women’s regular season matches, remain on sale through the UofL Ticket Office for $70 each. Visit GoCards.com to learn more about 2014 Louisville soccer season tickets. Group tickets for all Louisville matches can be requested by completing the group ticket application at http://www.gocards.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/soccer-group-tix.html or by calling (502) 852-0120. Groups consist of 10 or more and tickets start at $4.