GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The Morrisville State College Mustangs will defend their North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) men’s soccer championship as the preseason favorite, according to the coaches’ preseason poll rankings. 

The Mustangs, who have also received votes in the NSCAA Preseason Top 25 National rankings, garnered 10 out of a possible 12 first-place votes to go along with a second-place selection to tally a total score of 138 points.  Last year’s championship squad that went 16-3-1 overall and 9-1 in NEAC play will return nearly intact, as 25 players and eight starters remain heading into this season.  That list includes five 2014 All-Conference First Team selections in Joe Sheehan (Liverpool, N.Y.), Jeffrey Hado (Tema, Ghana), Danny Peckham (Webster, N.Y.), Alan Peckham (Webster, N.Y.) and Rob Larkin (Clinton, N.Y.).  Larkin, the reigning NEAC Goalkeeper of the Year, and the Peckham brothers highlight a returning backline that allowed just 64 shots on goal and a 0.64 goals-against average a year ago.     

Morrisville State head coach Kyle Graves, last season’s NEAC Coach of the Year selection, will test this year’s squad with three early season opponents that are currently ranked in the top 25 nationally in SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Cortland and University of Rochester.  The Mustangs defeated Rochester while the Yellowjackets were nationally ranked a season ago, before also going on to defeat King’s College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

Lancaster Bible College, last year’s NEAC Tournament runner up, placed second in the rankings with 127 points behind one first-place vote and seven second-place votes.  The Chargers, who finished a program-best 7-2-1 in conference play last year, will return 15 players that includes three NEAC All-Conference selections in Josiah Groff (Lancaster, Pa.), Edward Bills (York, Pa.) and Spencer Lockard (Bear, Del.). 

Although they lost the nation’s leading goal scorer Austin Gerber (Churchville, N.Y.) to graduation, the Keuka College Wolfpack will still return their 10 other starters and 24 players in total from last year’s playoff squad, which helped garner them a first-place vote en route to 115 total points for third place.   Penn State Abington (106 points) and Wells College (96 points) rounded out the top-five ranked teams, which matched last year’s NEAC Tournament field, while SUNY Polytechnic Institute was slotted to capture the sixth and final spot of this year’s playoff field after garnering a first-place vote and tallying 91 points overall.

The full men’s soccer preseason rankings can be found below:

Rank	Institution (First-Place Votes)	Total Points
1	Morrisville State College (10)	138
2	Lancaster Bible College (1)	127
3	Keuka College (1)	115
4	Penn State Abington	106
5	Wells College	96
6	SUNY Polytechnic Institute (1)	91
7	Penn College	74
8	Cazenovia College	70
9	Penn State Berks	58
10	Bryn Athyn College	47
11	SUNY Cobleskill	39
12	Gallaudet University	30
13	Wilson College	23

 

The 2015-16 NEAC men’s soccer season will begin on Tuesday, September 1.  A full season schedule can be found on the NEAC website here.  Be sure to follow all the action throughout the season using the free NEAC mobile app, Front Row, which can be downloaded here.

The preseason poll rankings were conducted by the NEAC men’s soccer coaches, with each coach ranking out all teams but their own using a staggered points system (12 points for a first-place vote, 11 points for second, etc.).  No self-voting was allowed.  This is the first year the NEAC has held preseason polls and they will now become a staple of all 18 conference-sponsored sports moving forward.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
The North Eastern Athletic Conference has fourteen NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cazenovia College, College of St. Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Pennsylvania State University - Abington, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Morrisville State College, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Wells College, and Wilson College.  Associate members are: Cedar Crest College (W Swimming), D’Youville College (M Volleyball), Hilbert College (M Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Penn State Altoona (M Volleyball) and Rutgers University - Camden (M Golf).  The North Eastern Athletic Conference has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sports of men’s and women’s tennis.