SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After clinching the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship crown in 2020-21, defending champion UNC Greensboro has been selected as the preseason frontrunner to claim the 2021 SoCon men’s soccer title in voting completed by the league’s seven head coaches. The Spartans, led by head coach Chris Rich, defeated the Belmont Bruins 1-0 in the 2020-21 Southern Conference Championship, capturing their sixth championship title in program history.
 
The Southern Conference men’s soccer head coaches also selected an 11-member preseason all-conference team, with UNCG, Belmont, and Furman garnering three selections each and Mercer collecting two. The coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team or players in the balloting process.
 
UNCG accumulated five first-place votes and finished with a total of 35 points, while Furman, which claimed its 21st regular-season title in 2020-21, followed closely behind with two first-place votes to finish with 32 points. Belmont and Mercer both claim the third-place spot, as the teams collected 22 points each. ETSU captured the fifth-place position and was separated from Belmont and Mercer by just three points, finishing with a total of 19 points. Wofford (11) and VMI (6) were separated by five points and concluded the poll with a sixth-place and seventh-place finish, respectively. 
 
UNCG, which also clinched a share of the 2019 regular-season title with Furman, recorded an overall record of 9-3-2 and a 3-1-2 record in conference play to finish in the No. 2 spot before their victory over Belmont in the 2020-21 championship contest. The Spartans will see nine starters return for the 2021 season, including three preseason all-conference selections.
 
Theo Collomb, who led the conference with eight goals and 19 points and collected co-Freshmen of the Year and All-SoCon first-team awards a season ago, will return to UNCG as forward for his sophomore season, while Fernando Garcia, an All-SoCon first-team award recipient, will return in the midfield for his senior season. Emmanuel Hagan, who was also an All-SoCon first-team an all-freshmen selection last season, will also return as a defender for the Spartans.
 
Led by the 2020-21 Coach of the Year and the winningest coach in SoCon history, Doug Allison, the Furman Paladins will see nine starters return for the 2021 season, including three preseason all-conference selections – sophomore forward Jake Raine, senior midfielder Miles Fenton, and senior defender Tommy Kay. The Paladins went 7-2-1 overall and finished the 2020-21 season with a 5-0-1 record in conference play.
 
Raine, who was a co-Freshmen of the Year and All-SoCon first-team award recipient last season, led Furman with 13 points on six goals and an assist with three game-winning goals. After scoring a season-high two goals in a double-overtime victory against ETSU, Raine earned the offensive player of the week award for the week of March 9-15. Fenton and Kay both earned postseason all-conference honors last season, with Fenton representing the Paladins on the first team and Kay representing the Paladins on the second team.
 
Belmont, which made an appearance in the final of the Southern Conference Championship and concluded the 2020-21 season with an overall record of 7-3-2 and a record of 3-2-1 in league play, has three preseason all-conference selections, including senior forward Niccolo Dagnoni and senior goalkeeper Drew Romig, who both earned second-team all-conference honors last season, as well as senior midfielder Kyle Barks. Dagnoni shared the conference lead in assists (four), while Romig tied for second in the league with four shutouts last season for the Bruins. Romig earned defensive player of the week honors for the week of March 16-22, and he joined Barks in representing Belmont on the Southern Conference All-Tournament team.
              
Mercer, who finished the 2020-21 season with an overall record of 4-9-1 and a 2-3-1 record in conference play, rounds out the preseason honorees with two all-conference selections, including midfielder Dylan Gaither and defender Ousman Jabang. Gaither was the only player from the team last season to secure a first-team all-conference selection, as the junior midfielder tied for fourth in the conference in points (12) and tied for fifth in goals (five), and game-winning goals (two).
 
The Southern Conference men’s soccer regular season begins on Thursday, Aug. 26, with Belmont, Furman, Mercer, UNCG, and VMI all competing on that day. ETSU will begin its regular season the following day, and Wofford will get underway on Aug. 29.
 
2021 Preseason Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Poll
Team (1st-place votes)     Total
 

1. UNCG (5)	35
2. Furman (2)	32
T3. Belmont	22
T3. Mercer	22
5. ETSU	19
6. Wofford	11
7. VMI	6

 
2021 Preseason All-Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Team
F             Niccolo Dagnoni, Belmont, Sr.
F             Jake Raine, Furman, So.
F             Theo Collomb, UNCG, So.
MF          Kyle Barks, Belmont, Sr.
MF          Miles Fenton, Furman, Sr.
MF          Dylan Gaither, Mercer, Jr.
MF          Fernando Garcia, UNCG, Sr.
D             Tommy Kay, Furman, Sr.
D             Ousman Jabang, Mercer, Jr.
D             Emmanuel Hagan, UNCG, So.
GK          Drew Romig, Belmont, Sr.