LATHAM, N.Y. – St. Mary’s College of Maryland has been selected as the favorite in the 2026 United East Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll, earning seven first-place votes and 116 total points following a vote of the conference’s 12 head coaches.

Defending United East champion Penn State Harrisburg secured second place with 109 points and three first-place votes. Penn State Abington collected the remaining two first-place votes and 96 points to rank third.

Penn College, which advanced to the United East championship game for the first time in program history last season, took fourth with 86 points. Lancaster Bible College rounded out the top five with 83 points.

St. Mary’s enters the season after posting a perfect 8-0 conference record and capturing its second consecutive United East regular-season title in 2025. Led by reigning United East Coach of the Year Alun Oliver, the Seahawks return an accomplished group of attacking players as they pursue another conference championship.

“We are very excited about this team heading into the fall,” Oliver said. “We have a great mix of experienced returners and talented newcomers, and we’re looking forward to getting started and beginning this journey together.”

Nick Haney returns after leading the Seahawks with 10 goals and five assists last season. Five of his goals were game-winners, the most in the United East. Haney earned First Team All-United East and United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-Region IV honors for his efforts.

Fellow United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-Region IV selection Zach Blaum is also back after registering five goals and two assists. The two-time First Team All-United East midfielder put 21 of his 43 shots on goal and scored two game-winning goals last fall. Senior Franco Reyes adds another proven option to the Seahawks’ offensive attack. Reyes scored eight goals and earned Second Team All-United East recognition in 2025.

“My hope is that our fans see a hard-working, unselfish team that plays for one another,” Oliver said. “We have a very close-knit group, and the guys are excited to compete together, support each other and continue building something special throughout the season.”

The Seahawks have also constructed a challenging nonconference schedule designed to prepare them for the United East slate.

“Our nonconference slate features several teams with NCAA Tournament experience, giving us an opportunity to test ourselves against strong competition from the start,” Oliver said. “We’re looking forward to using each game as a chance to grow, improve and prepare for the challenges that await us in conference play.”

Penn State Harrisburg begins its title defense under first-year head coach Colby Gay. Gay comes to Middletown following four seasons as an assistant coach at Division III power Cortland. During his tenure, the Red Dragons made four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, advanced to the Round of 16 three times and captured two SUNYAC championships.

The Lions won the 2025 United East championship after defeating Penn College 3-0 in the title game. Penn State Harrisburg finished conference play undefeated at 7-0-1 before earning the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Second Team All-United East selection Addis Tafese returns to lead the attack after recording eight goals and one assist last season. Goalkeeper Erik Rodriguez is also back after going 7-1 with four shutouts and a 0.86 goals-against average.

Penn State Abington enters the season ranked third after finishing 6-1-1 in conference play in 2025. The Nittany Lions return Laurence Narcisi, who scored six goals last fall, as they look to build on a third-place regular-season finish.

Penn College is fourth after making its first appearance in the United East championship game. The Wildcats return reigning United East Rookie of the Year Justin Crismale in goal. Crismale made 60 saves and recorded a 1.09 goals-against average during his first collegiate season.

Lancaster Bible ranks fifth after going 8-7-3 overall and 4-3-1 in conference competition last fall.

Cairn was selected sixth after finishing the 2025 campaign with a 5-9-3 overall record and a 3-4-1 mark in conference play.  Notre Dame of Maryland earned the seventh position in the poll. The Gators went 4-7-4 overall and 4-2-2 against United East opponents, finishing tied for fourth in the conference standings.

Penn State Berks ranks eighth after posting a 3-14-1 overall record and going 2-5-1 in conference play last season. Wilson, Keystone, Penn State Brandywine and Gallaudet complete the 2026 preseason poll.

	Team	Total Points	First-Place Votes
1	St. Mary's College of Maryland	116	7
2	Penn State Harrisburg	109	3
3	Penn State Abington	96	2
4	Penn College	86
5	Lancaster Bible College	83
6	Cairn University	78
7	Notre Dame of Maryland University	68
8	Penn State Berks	50
9	Wilson College	33
10	Keystone College	32
11	Penn State Brandywine	29
12	Gallaudet University	12