25.  Wake Forest – The Deacons will be back in the national rankings, and back in the NCAA Tournament field in 2011, after taking a year off in 2010.  Last year Wake Forest’s eleven year streak of consecutive NCAA Tourney appearances including four straight trips to the Final Four came to a halt when they were 8-9-2 overall.  Not exactly the type season the Deacon faithful are used to.  A solid contingent returns up-top led by junior Andy Lubahn (8g, 0a) who was a 2010 All-ACC Second Team selection and sophomore Luca Gimenez (5g, 2a).  The midfield will be deep and talented with the likes of  juniors Luciano Delbono (0g, 1a) and Ben Newnam (1g, 2a) and super sophomores Jared Watts (0g, 1a) and Kyle Emerson (1g, 2a) returning.  NSCAA High School All-American midfielder Teddy Mullin who enrolled in January is among the newcomers who will contribute immediately.  The backline will be stronger in 2011 than 2010 with junior Anthony Arena (2g, 0a) and redshirt junior Danny Wenzel among a solid contingent of very athletic returning defenders.  The biggest question mark heading into the 2011 season pertains to replacing Akira Fitzgerald in goal.  Fitzgerald was a three-year starter and finished his tenure in Wake Forest with a 0.83 goals against average.  Junior netminders Michael Lisch and Doug Ryan are the top candidates for the job.

26.  Old Dominion – Eight starters are back from the 2010 team that was 10-7-2 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  ODU was a much better team last year than their record indicates.  At times during the 2010 campaign they looked like the cream of the crop with wins over the likes of North Carolina, William and Mary, and Virginia.  They also had their share of ups and downs.  Look for there to be more ups and fewer downs in 2011 as the underclassmen that were in key roles last year benefit from the experience they gained.  The Monarchs look to be set up-top with the return of sophomore Gideon Asante (4g, 2a) who was a 2010 All-CAA Second team selection and junior Yannick Smith (0g, 2a) among others.  Juniors Jordan Le Blanc (5g, 2a) and Chris Harmon (7g, 3a) and sophomore Alex Vaughn (4g, 0a) are among returning midfielders.  The backline looks to be solid and experienced with senior Thomas Webb and junior Alex De John returning.  ODU must overcome the loss of four-year starter Evan Newton in goal.  No small order since Newton ended his tenure as the program’s all-time leader in saves and shutouts.

27.  Monmouth – The days of Monmouth catching anyone by surprise are long gone.  The program has been the dominant team in the NEC and nationally ranked for several years.  The Hawks return seven starters from the 2010 team that was 14-2-4 overall and  won the NEC regular season and tournament titles.  However, they have some big shoes to fill due to the graduation of All-American midfielder Ryan Kinne (12g, 6a) and goalkeeper Bryan Meredith who had thirty-four career shutouts.  It will all start at Monmouth in 2011 with junior midfielder Ryan Clark (3g, 6a) who has been a First Team All-NEC selection for the two years.  Clark will be joined in the midfield by seniors Max Hamilton, a Second-Team All NEC selection, Cesar Blacido and Matt Beverin.  The strength of the team may be in the backline, where senior Anthony Vazquez, R.J. Allen (2g, 4a)  and Christian Nogueira (0g, 1a) return.  Seniors Erkko Puranen (5g, 0a) and George Quintano (1g, 2a) and sophomore Jacob Rubinstein (4g, 1a) are among returning forwards who will have to take up the slack in the scoring since Kinne has departed.  The Hawks may not run the table in the NEC like they have at times in the past but they are still the team to beat in the conference.  The success that the program has enjoyed means that the Hawks will take every opponents best shot, especially in conference play.  Anything less than a conference championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament will be a disappointment for Monmouth.