Men's Soccer (Preseason)

[GoRamblers]

Pre-season voting released:

Team (first place votes) - Total Points
1. SIUE (1) - 40
T2. Evansville (2) - 36
T2. Drake (1) - 36
4. Bradley (2) - 35
5. Missouri State (1) - 21
6. Central Arkansas - 19
7. Loyola - 9

Also, no players on the pre-season all-conference team.

[Rambler63]

I'm not really surprised by this poll. As I wrote in the fall sports preview....

"[In men's soccer] as with women’s volleyball, Loyola’s move to the MVC is going to be a large step up in the level of competition. Loyola finished the 2012 campaign with a 5-12-2 overall record and a 2-3-2 Horizon League conference mark, but managed to make it to the Horizon League men’s soccer conference final only to lose to Cleveland State, 2-0. Significantly, Loyola lost FOUR non-conference games to MVC foes last year: 2-1 in OT to Central Arkansas to open the season at home, followed by a 3-1 loss at Drake, a 1-0 loss at Creighton, and a 3-0 loss hosting Bradley. That’s four losses by a 9-2 goal difference against teams Loyola will face this year in conference play."

The preview that surprised me was women's soccer. We were picked last, and I predicted second. Two games in to the season in women's soccer we are currently alone in first place in the MVC with a 1-0-1 record.