BOSTON, MA - The 2013 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men’s soccer preseason poll has been announced and Saint Joseph’s College has been forecasted to place fourth this season.

The Monks, led by fifth-year Head Coach Steve Babineau, feature 18 returning players from a side that went 10-7-2 overall and 6-3-1 in conference play last fall. Key returners include past All-Conference honorees Zach Johnson (Westbrook, Maine), the Monks’ top scorer each of the past two seasons, as well as senior backs Dan McIntyre (Sparta, N.J.) and Joe Murphy (Poland, Maine). The 2013 campaign begins this weekend when Saint Joseph’s plays a pair of contests in the Roger Williams / TURFER Soccer Classic.

Separated by just one point, the Albertus Magnus College men’s soccer team edged out Lasell College to take the top spot in the poll. With five first place votes and 88 points the Falcons have been picked first after last season’s GNAC championship while the Lasers finished with 87 points and three first place votes to come in a close second after capturing the 2012 GNAC regular season crown. Norwich University rounded out the top three right on their heels with 85 total points and two first place votes after advancing to last year’s championship only to fall to Albertus in a PK shootout.

The Falcons will look to make it two in a row this season after posting a 15-4-3 overall mark a year ago. Albertus bids farewell to Stephen Zapata who was named an NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division III Second Team All-American as well as Nick Hamasian, the reigning GNAC Defensive Player of the Year. The Falcons will look to Stephen’s younger brother Alex Zapata to pick up his scoring slack after an impressive rookie season in which he registered 20 points on nine goals and two assists en route to being named the GNAC Rookie of the Year. Also returning is First-Team All-Conference goalkeeper Donato Piroscafo who posted a 0.77 goals against average last year.

Lasell will look to avenge an early exit from last year’s postseason, returning the reigning GNAC Player of the Year in Mike Skelton. Skelton posted a league-high 14 goals last year to lead the Lasers to a 15-4-1 mark. Much of the Lasers success a year ago could be attributed to the solid net play of Miguel Colmenares who as a rookie posted a 0.91 goals against average as well as an .820 save percentage.

The Norwich University Cadets were a goal away from capturing the GNAC title in 2012 but will be in the thick of things again this season as they return a strong core of veterans including defenders Ryan Campbell and Wesley Keslin who were both named NSCAA All-New England Region players each of the last two seasons. The goalkeeping duo of Greg Payne and Christian Hallstrom also anchors a strong defensive unit for the Cadets.

Saint Joseph’s College recorded 68 points to finish fourth in the poll. The 2011 GNAC champs return their leading scorer in senior Zach Johnson and will look to return to the top of the league.

Johnson & Wales University rounded out the top half of the poll with 66 points.

Suffolk University and Emmanuel College ranked sixth and seventh in the poll with 48 and 39 points while Mount Ida College came in eighth with 37 points.

Anna Maria College finished with 17 points in ninth place while Rivier University closed out the poll in 10th with 15 points.

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division III conference made up of 12 institutions with nine associate members. In 2013-14, the GNAC will sponsor championships in 17 sports for men and women. The GNAC also enjoys outstanding professional partnerships with Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine Division, Doubletree Hotels, Fenway Printers, New Balance, Reading Trophy and Presto Sports.

COMPLETE POLL:

MAJOR PORTIONS COURTESY OF GNAC SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE

Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.