INDIANAPOLIS - In a near-unanimous vote, Ohio Valley topped the new Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour that was released Thursday morning.

The Fighting Scots, reigning Great Midwest regular-season and tournament champions, received 10 first-place votes in the balloting with a total of 119 points. Davis & Elkins was picked to finish second in the conference standings with 102 points.

The other two first-place votes belonged to Tiffin, the league’s newest member as the Dragons collected 90 points from the coaches.

Only one point separated Alderson Broaddus and Findlay in a fierce battle for fourth and fifth. The Battlers had 87 points and the Oilers were polled for 86. Both teams were conference tournament qualifiers a year ago.

Cedarville heads the middle of the pack in the preseason poll in sixth place while Ohio Dominican, who arguably was as hot as any team entering the postseason last year, will start the fall in seventh.

Trevecca, Walsh and Lake Erie, rounded out spots 7 through 10 while Malone and Kentucky Wesleyan were also voted in order. TNU and Walsh also qualified for the conference championship bracket in 2017.

Ohio Valley and Davis & Elkins were already revealed as one of the top 25 teams nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll. The Fighting Scots and Senators were both NCAA Championship qualifiers in 2017, giving the Great Midwest two Midwest Region participants for the first time in six years.

OVU claimed all individual awards in the all-conference voting and despite graduating some impact players, including All-American goalkeeper Carlos Rubio, return Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Year Celso Riveros as one of many playmakers.

OVU would end up making a storied postseason run that placed the program in the final 16 from the original 38 in the NCAA Championship bracket. This year, the landscape for Division II shifts with a new super regional format for national championship qualification.

D&E’s program went through change in the offseason as Matt Ellinger stepped in as a new head coach and names that put up big numbers in the league last year like Mads Kaiser, Tim Staerz, Pablo Salvador Lopez and Rafa Moreno, have graduated or are not on the current roster.

Ohio Valley is ranked seventh in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and Davis & Elkins is tied for 25th with two other schools.

As is the case with all of Tiffin’s sport offerings, the league views the men’s soccer program as a championship contender and opposing teams will need to adjust to new names and a new system. The Dragons were 8-7-3 a year ago while beating Findlay and contesting Alderson Broaddus in the regular-season opener.

Alderson Broaddus and Cedarville have established their programs as annual contenders in the league and are looking to continue their tradition despite graduating some key players like Shavon John-Brown and John Schwien.

Cedarville senior forward Derek Braak was the league leader in points per game (1.64) and goals per game (0.79) last season. His 42 career points is tied for seventh in conference career history.

Findlay was impacted by injuries in 2017 but at full strength, it’s scary to imagine what Josh Hales, Josh Burton and Josh Dickinson, can do together on the pitch over the course of a full year. And sophomore Alex Kerstetter erupted for an eight-point game against Walsh.

Trevecca graduated first team all-conference defender Frank Down but really came on strong down the stretch of the regular season, beating Lake Erie, Davis & Elkins and Alderson Broaddus, in order during the month of October.

Walsh junior forward Dwight Van Dyke matched the single-game scoring record against Kentucky Wesleyan with nine points. He put himself in elite company with James Pucci (D&E), Jose Noriega (ABU) and Javier Ruiz Paz (Salem) as the only players to score nine points in conference history.

Understandably so, it was a tough year for Malone and Kentucky Wesleyan each had one win in 2017. The Pioneers have a new coach on the sidelines with Eric Reed; Kentucky Wesleyan’s league win last year was against Lake Erie in shutout form.


Great Midwest Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
 

School	Points
1. Ohio Valley (10 first-place votes)	119
2. Davis & Elkins	102
3. Tiffin (2 first-place votes)	90
4. Alderson Broaddus	87
5. Findlay	86
6. Cedarville	81
7. Ohio Dominican	60
8. Trevecca	56
9. Walsh	45
10. Lake Erie	34
11. Malone	19
12. Kentucky Wesleyan	13