MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia men’s soccer team was also voted to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
In a vote by the league’s six head coaches, the Mountaineers received 18 points, just three points behind Bowling Green, which received 21 points, along with one first-place vote. Ahead of BGSU was Western Michigan in second place with 28 points, along with two first-place votes. Garnering three first-place votes and 33 points was Akron, once again earning the first-place spot.
Rounding out the preseason poll was Northern Illinois in fifth, behind WVU with 14 points, and SIU-Edwardsville in sixth place, collecting 12 points.
The Mountaineers finished the 2019 season with a 10-9-2 overall record, before going on to become the MAC tournament champions and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The squad advanced to the second round.
WVU coach Dan Stratford enters his first season at the helm of his alma mater after being hired as the program’s 10th head coach in Jan. 2020. He arrived in Morgantown following a three-year head coaching stint at the University of Charleston, compiling a 61-4-5 overall record and leading UC to a pair of Division II national championships.
The Mountaineers return seven players who saw action in at least nine matches in 2019, including five who scored at least one goal for WVU. Goalkeeper Steven Tekesky returns for his senior season as WVU’s starting netminder, after recording six shutouts in 2019.
2021 MAC Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll
- Akron — 33 (3)
- Western Michigan — 28 (2)
- Bowling Green — 21 (1)
- West Virginia — 18
- Northern Illinois — 14
- SIUE — 12
(*) – First Place Votes
