INDIANAPOLIS – The title defense now officially begins for Alderson Broaddus as it headlined the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour on Thursday.
The league features an expanded 11 teams (minus Hillsdale, Ursuline men's programs) for the 2017 campaign. Voting for the preseason poll was tabulated among the conference's head coaches.
The Great Midwest is looking for multiple at-large bids to the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional. The sport receives an automatic qualifying bid for the winner of the conference tournament.
The Great Midwest Championship also opens up to an eight-team bracket this season. The first rounds will be played at the higher seeds before the top remaining seed would host the semifinals and the final.
The Battlers from Alderson Broaddus led top-heavy representation from the state of West Virginia at the front of the preseason poll with 104 points and six total first-place votes.
AB won last year’s G-MAC Championship final against Cedarville in Elkins, W.Va., following a thrilling overtime finish. As the No. 4 seed in the bracket, Alderson Broaddus completed an inspired postseason run and compiled an 11-7-2 overall record.
Next in line as the preseason runner-up was conference regular-season champ Davis & Elkins. The Senators earned the right to host last year’s G-MAC Championship at Nuttall Field. D&E garnered 94 points including a pair of first-place votes.
Trailing D&E by just one point and in third place was Cedarville as the Yellow Jackets gathered four second-place votes and four third-place votes.
Ohio Valley’s stunning turnaround on the pitch commanded a pair of first-place votes from the coaches as well. The Fighting Scots head into the fall ranked fourth in the league with a total of 89 points.
Great Midwest newcomer Ohio Dominican earned the other first-place vote and the Panthers start the regular season ranked fifth.
Trevecca Nazarene made the conference tournament once again in 2016 and was picked sixth with 62 points. A trio of incoming first-year league members takes No. 7 through 9 in the poll with Lake Erie, Findlay and Walsh, in order, respectively.
Kentucky Wesleyan is looking to get back into the postseason again while Malone, now in its second year with the Great Midwest, officially rounded out the coaches voting in 11th.
The Great Midwest men’s soccer season preview will be posted next Thursday, August 24, as we look at the league more in-depth in the sport’s sixth year of competition.
2017 Great Midwest Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Alderson Broaddus (6 first-place votes) |
104 |
| 2. Davis & Elkins (2 first-place votes) |
94 |
| 3. Cedarville |
93 |
| 4. Ohio Valley (2 first-place votes) |
89 |
| 5. Ohio Dominican (1 first-place vote) |
69 |
| 6. Trevecca Nazarene |
62 |
| 7. Lake Erie |
60 |
| 8. Findlay |
50 |
| 9. Walsh |
43 |
| 10. Kentucky Wesleyan |
36 |
| 11. Malone |
26 |