South Jersey Preseason Boys’ Soccer Top 10

Last year's record in parentheses.

1. Cherokee (14-5-3). The 2010 Group 4 champions return five starters, including senior forward and Temple recruit Mike Ryan. Senior midfielder Angelo Dambalas and senior goalkeeper Barry Fitzgerald should carry an otherwise young defense.

2. Shawnee (14-1-7). Shawnee's 2010 season ended in heartbreaking fashion when the team fell in penalty kicks to Cherokee in the South Jersey Group 4 title game. But there were bright spots for the Renegades in that game, and many of those bright spots return this season. Keeper Mike Hartman, who recorded 10 saves in the first half of that game, is back, as is striker Greg Biggiani.

3. St. Augustine (25-1). The Hermits lost a strong senior class from their 2010 Non-Public A state-championship run. But the team returns a talented roster led by defender Mickey Smyth and forward Dominick Palmieri.

4. Haddon Heights (19-2-2). The South Jersey Group 2 champions graduated some offensive firepower but returns one of the best defense, if not the best, in South Jersey, including goalkeeper Jon Weaver and stopper Austin McCleery.

5. Rancocas Valley (9-8-4). RV is a senior-laden team that should be in the mix in the always-grueling Burlington County League Liberty Division. Defender Jared Gershowitz and forward Ian Carmelia will lead the Red Devils.

6. Delran (13-4-2). First-team All-Inquirer selection Jackson Machado was the Bears' last remaining starter from their state-championship team in 2009. Machado headed a strong Class of 2010, leaving this year's Delran team young but with enough talent to compete once again in the Liberty Division and in Group 2.

7. Bishop Eustace (8-8-2). A dark horse to finish atop the Olympic Conference National Division, Bishop Eustace returns nearly its entire 2010 team led by senior midfielder Ben Keane and junior forwards Austin Lenalt and Marc Montinard.

8. Cinnaminson (12-5-2). The Pirates will be hard-pressed to replace the graduated Max DiLeo and Sean Joyce. But several seniors, including midfielder Steve Cellini, will work to revamp the team.

9. Eastern (15-4-2). The Vikings were hit as hard by graduation as any team in South Jersey, and they return just two starters from last season. But Eastern has won two division titles in three years and still fields a talented roster.

10. Sacred Heart (19-2). The Lions will no doubt be playing with heavy hearts this season after the death of Nick Gazzara, a senior who set the school's single-season scoring record with 42 goals in 2010. But Sacred Heart brings back one of the top teams in the Cape-Atlantic League and will be led by midfielder Mike Mazzochi.

- Chris Melchiorre