CEDARVILLE — Three-time champion Cedarville has been voted to finish third in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference men’s soccer preseason poll presented by Under Armour.
The vote was conducted by the league’s men’s soccer coaches.
The Yellow Jackets, who were the G-MAC runner-up last fall after winning the previous three trophies, ended up third in this year’s poll despite not earning any first-place votes.
CU, 12-8-3 overall and 7-3-2 G-MAC in 2016, totaled 93 points on the strength of four second-place votes and four more for third place.
Defending champion Alderson Broaddus is the choice to repeat as champion with six top votes and 104 points.
Davis & Elkins narrowly finished second ahead of CU with 94 points and two first place votes. Rounding out the top five are Ohio Valley (89 points; two first place votes) and Ohio Dominican (69).
“We’re excited to be back and getting to work at becoming the best team we can be in every sense of the word. I fully expect the conference to be tough from top-to-bottom,” said Head Coach Brett Faro. ” The addition of the new teams will provide new challenges, and there will be a lot of tight games right from the get go. Our focus is 100 percent on getting better each day and on preparing for opening weekend.”
Positions 6-through-11 in the poll include Trevecca, Lake Erie, Findlay, Walsh, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Malone, respectively.
The Jackets will play Kentucky Wesleyan, Lake Erie, Ohio Valley, and Trevecca two times each. They face the other league members once featuring AB and D&E both on the road.
The G-MAC men’s soccer tournament will take place Oct. 28, Nov. 2 and 4, with the the top eight teams qualifying for the tournament. The highest four seeds will host quarterfinal matches on Oct. 28. The highest remaining seed will host the semifinals (Nov. 2) and final (Nov. 4).
For the first time ever, conference champions earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
