Cowboys Picked Second; Salas Named Preseason Player of the Year

Aug. 19, 2004

ABILENE, Texas - Hardin-Simmons' men's soccer has been picked second in the preseason American Southwest Conference poll that was conducted by the league's head coaches. HSU sophomore forward David Salas was named the ASC preseason offensive player of the year. Salas finished fourth in the ASC point standings last season, compiling 32 points on 14 goals and four assists. He ranked third in goals scored. Salas was named ASC West Division Offensive Freshman of the Year, All-ASC and All-West Division First Team, helping Hardin-Simmons to a runner-up finish in the ASC West Division and a berth in the conference championship tournament. The ASC head coaches predicted a tight race for the regular-season conference title with the top four teams each earning first-place votes and falling within 28 points of each other in the preseason polling. UT-Dallas claimed five first-place votes and 189 total points, outdistancing the University of Texas at Tyler (6 first-place votes) and Hardin-Simmons (1 first-place vote), who tied at second with 162 points each. McMurry University picked-up two first-place votes and totaled 161 points for fourth. UT-Tyler put together a 14-0-0 league record to win last season's ASC East title in its first year in the conference while McMurry was undefeated (9-0-1 ASC) in its ASC West championship run a year ago. Hardin-Simmons and UTD each placed second in their respective ASC Divisions a year ago. Defending ASC champion University of the Ozarks was picked to finish fifth (159 pts.). Texas Lutheran University (126 pts.) and Austin College (96 pts.) complete the upper half of the conference in sixth and seventh places, respectively. In 2004, the 14 ASC men's soccer programs will compete in a single-division format to determine the regular-season champion. The top six seeded teams will advance to the ASC Championship Tournament November 5-7 with the winner claiming the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.