WINTHROP, Mass. – Fresh off an NCAA Division III Tournament appearance last fall in which it advanced past Babson in a first-round contest, Saint Joseph's College of Maine has received 10 of a possible 11 first-place votes to take home the top spot in the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Soccer Preseason Poll, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
For the complete poll results, please see below.
Last season, the Monks posted a 15-2-6 overall record and 8-0-1 GNAC mark in GNAC play to earn the top seed in the GNAC Tournament, eventually taking down Norwich University in the title game on penalty kicks. Saint Joseph's returns all four of its GNAC First Team All-Conference selections from a year ago.
Also in 2016, SJC set new team records for most wins, fewest losses, most ties, highest winning percentage, longest winning streak (8), longest undefeated streak (20), shutouts (16), consecutive shutouts (8) and goals-against average (0.41).
2016 GNAC runner-up Norwich finished second in the poll with 105 points and collected the remaining first-place vote, followed by Johnson & Wales University in third place with 103 points, Suffolk University in the fourth spot with 86 points and Albertus Magnus College rounding out the top-five with 74 points.
In order, Emmanuel College, Regis (Mass.), Mount Ida College, Rivier University, Anna Maria College and Lasell College made up the remainder of the ledger.
Regular-season, non-conference action kicks off next Friday, September 1 as the 2017 campaign gets underway, followed by the first GNAC play date on Saturday, September 9. The conference tournament quarterfinal round is set for Sunday, October 29, with the title contest the following weekend on Saturday, November 4.
2017 GNAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
1. Saint Joseph's of Maine (10) - 119
2. Norwich (1) - 105
3. Johnson & Wales - 103
4. Suffolk - 86
5. Albertus Magnus - 74
6. Emmanuel - 60
7. Regis (Mass.) - 59
8. Mount Ida - 46
9. Rivier - 37
10. Anna Maria - 21
11. Lasell – 16
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and nearly 4,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
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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 474-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.