17.  Ohio State – The Buckeyes earned their fourth consecutive NCAA Tourney berth last year while posting an 11-6-2 overall record with a 4-2-0 mark in Big Ten play.  Eight starters are back from the 2010 team that advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before losing 2-1 to Louisville.  The Buckeyes lose midfielders Konrad Warzycha (8g, 0a), Matt Gold (0g, 2a) and Sam Scales (2g, 4a) to graduation but they return a talented and gritty team that will make their presence known in the Big Ten and should keep the Buckeyes streak of consecutive NCAA Tourney appearances intact.   David Tiemstra, a College Soccer News Second Team All-American and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, will anchor an experienced backline that allowed only fifteen goals last year.  Tiemstra will be joined in the back by senior Dalton Summers, junior Chris Gomez, and sophomore Sage Gardner who was an All-Big Ten Freshman Team selection last year.  Junior Matt Lampson who is the complete package returns in goal.  Lampson, who has been a starter for the past two seasons, was a 2010 First Team All-Big Ten selection with a 0.72 goals against average and ten clean sheets.

18.  Michigan State – The Spartans are coming off a thirteen win season in which they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. They will enter the 2011 campaign missing the presence of a tone-setting seven member senior class that became the first senior class in the history of the program to reach the NCAA Tournament in each of their four years.  Key losses include goalkeeper Avery Steinlage, defender Colin Givens, and midfielder Spencer Thompson (3g, 8a).  However, Michigan State has multiple key returning players, including their top three goal scorers, who should keep the Spartans in the upper tier of the Big Ten Conference which was represented in the NCAA Tournament by five teams last year.  The Spartans return seniors Domenic Barone (10g, 3a) who was an All-Big Ten Second Team selection and Rubin Bega (5g, 1a) up-top.  Seniors Cyrus Saydee (4g, 7a), Mark Barone (1g, 5a), and Brent Rosendall (8g, 3a) are among returning midfielders.  Junior Kevin Cope (1g, 0a) who is among the best defenders in the Big Ten and sophomore center back Josh Barens (0g, 2a) who was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team provide a solid foundation upon which to rebuild the backline.

 

19. Loyola Marymount University – The Lions were left standing at the alter last year without an at-large berth into the NCAA Tourney despite a solid 12-6-2 overall record and a 8-3-1 mark in WCC play.  That and the fact that they return nine starters should make the Lions a very hungry and focused team in 2011.  The challenge will be replacing  All-American midfielder Rafael Baca who did everything but sell programs during his tenure at LMU and defensive center midfielder Vincent Ocampo who was a three year starter.  However the cupboard is far from bare with junior David Ponce (6g, 5a), a 2010 Second Team All-WCC selection, and senior Phil DaSilva (6g, 2a) returning to power the attack up-top.  Senior outside mid Arthur Jozkowicz (7g, 4a) and senior center mid Kyle Johnason (1g, 5a) should play key roles in 2011.  Senior center back Roger Downes who was the 2010 WCC Defensive Player of the Year returns to anchor the backline along with senior Jonas Reiter.  Senior outside backs Tyler Krumpe (0g, 3a) and Logan McDaniel round out what should be a very good LMU backline.  Redshirt senior Jack McCormack returns to give the Lions an experienced presence between the pipes.  Early season contests at Tulsa and at UCLA will test the mettle of this team.

20.  Penn State – The Nittany Lions won fourteen games in Bob Warming’s first year at the helm of the program.  Despite the loss of a handful of key starters including forward Corey Hertzog (20g, 6a) and midfielder Matheus Braga (5g, 17a), Penn State will compete for the Big Ten title in 2011, thanks in large part to the addition of several transfers.  Forwards Hasani Sinclair from South Florida and Julian Cardona from Butler should help offset the losses of Hertzog and Braga.  Junior midfielder Jacob Barron who transferred in from UC Davis is among other newcomers who should contribute.  Seniors Mackenzie Arment (2g, 9a) and Justin Lee (1g, 4a) will set the pace in the midfield.  The backline should be solid due to the return of seniors Mark Fetrow (2g, 0a) and Matt Smallwood (1g, 4a) and junior central defender Brian Forgue (0g, 1a).  Sophomore forward Jordan Tyler (5g, 3a) is a dynamic player who should play a key role in the attack in 2011.  Junior Daniel Burnham (1g, 2a) should also be in the mix up-top.  The fate of Penn States season may rest on the play in goal which is an unanswered question heading into the 2011 season.