Junior Clayton Ulmer Named East Coast Conference Preseason Men's Soccer Defensive Player Of The Year

Central Islip, N.Y. – The LIU Post men's soccer team has been picked as the favorite to capture the ECC Championship in 2012 as voted upon by the league's coaches.  Junior forward Cemil Turan (Staten Island, N.Y.) from LIU Post was named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and junior defender, Clayton Ulmer (Hamden, Conn.) from the University of Bridgeport was voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Coming off a program record 17 wins in 2011, LIU Post claimed seven first place votes and tallied 96 points to take the top spot in the poll.  The Pioneers finished with a 6-0-1 record in conference play a season ago to capture the ECC Regular Season Championship and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006. LIU Post also begins the 2012 slate ranked as the No. 13 team in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America national poll.

Defending ECC Champion, New York Institute of Technology, was the runner up in the poll with 85 points and two first place votes. Bridgeport rounds out the top three with 70 points.

St. Thomas Aquinas, a 2011 NCAA Tournament participant and currently ranked No. 21 in the NSCAA Preseason Poll, grabbed the final first place vote.

Turan was an offensive force for the Pioneers in 2011, scoring 14 goals and passing off 4 helpers for 32 points. He also tallied seven game winning goals, helping him take home the ECC Offensive Player of the Year Award. Turan earned numerous other awards for his play in 2011, including being named a Third Team All-American by the NSCAA.

Ulmer was a mainstay on the Purple Knights back line that allowed only 1.42 goals per game. His outstanding play helped him earn the ECC Defensive Player of the Year award as well as a spot on the Daktronics All-America Second Team.

2012 ECC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll

School                            Pts.        2010 Record

1. LIU Post (7)                  96           17-3-1

2. NYIT (2)                       85           14-4-2

3. Bridgeport                    70           9-7-1

4. Dowling                        66           6-7-3

5. St. Thomas Aquinas (1)  65           11-4-4

6. Queens                         51           7-8-4

7. District of Columbia       36           8-5-4

8. Molloy                           33           2-14-1

9. Mercy                            32           6-10-1

10. Roberts Wesleyan         16           11-10-1

( ) – first place votes

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO RELEASE OF 2012 ECC MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES POLL