After Historic #AEMSOC Season, UMass Lowell Tabbed 2017 Favorites

After Historic #AEMSOC Season, UMass Lowell Tabbed 2017 Favorites

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BOSTON – After a season during which America East teams collectively achieved one of the best seasons in conference history, reigning regular-season champion UMass Lowell is the league favorite in the 2017 coaches’ poll announced Tuesday morning. The voting was conducted by the conference’s eight head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own teams.

UMass Lowell, the conference’s preseason favorite for the first time, finished 2017 with the seventh-best RPI in the country and is postseason eligible for the first time after completing the NCAA reclassification process. The River Hawks, who are ranked 18th in the United Soccer Coaches’ Division I preseason poll, received five first-place votes and 47 points, narrowly edging out reigning conference champion Albany, which garnered three first-place votes and 45 points. The Great Danes received the #14 seed in last year’s NCAA tournament and reached the third round. Here is the full poll:

2017 #AEMSOC Preseason Coaches' Poll 
1. UMass Lowell  (5 1st-place votes), 47 pts
2. Albany (3), 45
3. Stony Brook, 32
4. New Hampshire, 31      
5. Hartford, 22
6. UMBC, 18
7. Vermont, 15
8. Binghamton, 14

The 2016 season was the conference’s best-ever in men’s soccer. Highlights included:
  • Finished with the nation’s third-best conference RPI behind only the ACC and Big Ten.
  • Had two teams (Albany, Vermont) win NCAA games and reach the tournament’s second round in the same year for the first time.
  • Placed seven teams in the top 77 of the RPI, joining the ACC and Big East as the only conferences to do so.
  • #AEMSOC teams combined for a .670 win percentage vs. non-conference foes, going 53-23-12, 2nd only to the ACC.
  • Thirteen teams have reached the NCAA second round in the last 16 years, two have reached the Sweet Sixteen and UMBC made it all the way to the Final Four in 2014.
The 2017 campaign kicks off with seven games on Friday, Aug. 25. The 56-game conference slate starts on Saturday, Sept. 30 and runs through Wednesday, Nov. 1. The top six teams in the standings will qualify for the America East Championship, which takes place on Saturday, Nov. 4 (quarterfinals), Wednesday, Nov. 8 (semifinals) and Sunday, Nov. 12 (championship game).