SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Defending Southern Conference men’s soccer tournament champion Mercer has been selected as the preseason favorite by the league’s seven head coaches for the second straight season, after claiming the 2019 championship title with a 1-0 win over UNCG.
The coaches also selected an 11-member preseason all-conference team, with the Bears leading the conference with three selections. Furman, UNCG and Wofford each have two players on the preseason team, while Belmont and ETSU round the squad out with one selection each.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team or players during the process.
The Bears received 34 points and five first-place votes to secure first in this season’s coaches’ poll. Furman and 2019 tournament runner-up UNCG, who shared the 2019 regular-season title, split the remaining first-place votes, earning a close 30 and 29 points, respectively. ETSU was voted to finish fourth with 17 points, followed closely by Wofford (16) and Belmont (15). VMI rounded out the poll with six points.
Mercer went 14-7 overall last season and 3-3 in conference play, earning the fourth seed in the 2019 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship and beating No. 2 seeded UNCG 1-0 in the title match. The Bears defeated No. 1 Furman in the semifinal round 3-2 in double overtime. Mercer landed three players on the preseason all-conference team in forward Trevor Martineau, defender Kareve Richards and goalkeeper JR DeRose. Martineau led the conference last season in points (38), goals (14) and assists (10) while also racking up five game-winning goals during the Bears’ 2019 action. Martineau is joined by goalkeeper DeRose, who was named most outstanding player during the 2019 championship. The redshirt senior led the conference in shutouts (six) during the 2019 campaign and made 70 saves on the season. Richards started in all 21 games last season, accumulating a team-high 1,941 minutes, and played in all 90 minutes in the SoCon championship game.
Furman, who was seeded No. 1 last season, has defenders Cole McLagan and Tommy Kay on the preseason all-conference team. The Paladins finished last season 11-7-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play, with its only conference loss coming to Mercer. Last year, McLagan was among the conference’s top-10 season leaders in points (19) and goals (eight), as the redshirt senior returns this season seeking to top those numbers.
UNCG finished the 2019 campaign 9-9-1 and 5-1 in conference play. Forward Micah Albert and midfielder Nelson Oceano represent the Spartans on the preseason all-conference team. Albert received first-team All-SoCon honors as a sophomore last season, while Oceano earned second-team All-SoCon honors.
Wofford sophomore midfielder Adrian Roseth and sophomore defender Buster Sjoberg are members of this season’s preseason squad, as they represent the Terriers. Roseth led the team in scoring with 12 points on six goals and was the second player in the school’s history to be named SoCon Freshman of the Year. Sjoberg joined Roseth on the 2019 SoCon All-Freshman team after a successful season with the Terriers.
ETSU finished third last season with an 8-8-2 and 4-2 conference record and has midfielder Kieran Richards representing the Bucs on the preseason team.
Belmont midfielder Niccolo Dagnoni, a 2018 all-freshman selection and member of the 2019 all-conference first team, rounds out this year’s 11-member preseason squad. Dagnoni and Mercer’s Martineau are the only two returning members of the preseason all-conference team, as both were selected to last year’s team.
2020-21 Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll
- Mercer (5) 34
- Furman (1) 30
- UNCG (1) 29
- ETSU 17
- Wofford 16
- Belmont 15
- VMI 6
2020-21 Men’s Soccer Preseason All-Conference Team
F Trevor Martineau, Mercer
F Niccolo Dagnoni, Belmont
F Micah Albert, UNCG
MF Kieran Richards, ETSU
MF Adrian Roseth, Wofford
MF Nelson Oceano, UNCG
D Cole McLagan, Furman
D Tommy Kay, Furman
D Kareve Richards, Mercer
D Buster Sjoberg, Wofford
GK JR DeRose, Mercer
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