UMass Lowell Tops 2018 #AEMSOC Preseason Poll Headlining Strong Crop of Teams
BOSTON – As one of the strongest Division I men’s soccer conferences in the country, the 2018 America East season sets up to be compelling as UMass Lowell tops a tight preseason poll featuring several teams with conference title and NCAA tournament aspirations. The voting was conducted by the conference’s eight head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own teams.
The River Hawks, the conference’s preseason favorite for the second-straight year, barely edged out 2017 NCAA championship participants New Hampshire and UAlbany, earning 44 points and three first-place votes. The Wildcats, which reached the third round of the NCAA tournament a year ago, followed closely in second with 42 points after earning a pair of first place tallies. UAlbany, the league’s two-time defending champion after upending the River Hawks, 1-0 in double overtime in the title game a year ago, was third with 40 points and earned three first-place votes.
Here is the full poll:
2018 America East Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll
No. School Points (1st Place Votes)
1. UMass Lowell 44 (3)
2. New Hampshire 42 (2)
3. UAlbany 40 (3)
4. Vermont 32
5. UMBC 27
6. Stony Brook 16
7. Hartford 12
8. Binghamton 11
The 2017 season was the conference’s best-ever in men’s soccer. Highlights included:
- Had the nation’s fifth-best conference RPI one season after finishing third.
- Two teams (UAlbany, New Hampshire) won NCAA games and reached the tournament’s second round in the same year for the second-straight season.
- America East is one of just six leagues to have multiple men’s soccer teams reach the NCAA 2nd round each of the last two years.
- Placed seven teams in the top 85 of the RPI, joining the ACC as the only two conferences to do so.
- Fifteen teams have reached the NCAA second round in the last 17 years, three have reached the Sweet Sixteen and UMBC made it all the way to the Final Four in 2014.
Twenty-two players who earned All-Conference or All-Rookie status last year will be back in 2018, including seven first-team All-America East selections. Among those eight are four major award winners from last year, including UMass Lowell's Jakov Basic (Midfielder of the Year) and Ivan Blaskic (Defender of the Year), Vermont's Aron Runarsson (Goalkeeper of the Year) and Binghamton's Noah Luescher (Rookie of the Year. Also back is UAlbany's Daniel Krutzen, a third-team All-American last year.
The 2018 campaign kicks off with all eight teams in action on Friday, Aug. 25. The 28-game conference slate starts on Friday, Sept. 21 and runs through Wednesday, Oct. 31 and will no doubt be competitive as all eight teams have been league champion or regular-season champion, seeded first for the America East Championship, reached the league title game or played in the NCAA tournament within the last four seasons. The top six teams in the standings will qualify for the America East Championship, which takes place at the higher seed in each round on Saturday, Nov. 3 (quarterfinals), Wednesday, Nov. 7 (semifinals) and Sunday, Nov. 11 (championship game).
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
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