UNC Greensboro Picked First In 2025 Men's Soccer Preseason Poll

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNC Greensboro has been picked as the favorite to win the 2025 regular season title in the preseason Southern Conference men’s soccer poll. Ballots were submitted by the league's six head coaches.

The Spartans earned four of the six first-place votes in the poll, edging defending champion Furman by only two points in a very tight vote.

Both programs debuted in the Top Drawer Soccer preseason top 25 poll as well on Monday, with Furman ranked 20th and the Spartans ranked 23rd.

The coaches also selected a preseason All-Conference team, and the Spartans led the way with seven on the team. Furman had five players earn preseason All-SoCon honors.

UNC Greensboro finished the 2024 regular season tied atop the SoCon standings with ETSU, posting a 3-1-1 league mark, and earned the tournament’s top seed. The Spartans posted a strong 10-2-5 mark overall.

Forward Arnaud Tattevin paced the UNCG contingent on this year’s preseason All-SoCon team, after earning first-team honors in 2024. The Reenes, France, native scored seven goals and dished off two assists last season in 13 starts. He was a second-team All-SoCon selection in 2023 and has 30 career points.

Forward Enzo Dovlo, midfielders Issah Haruna and Magnus Kjoller, defenders Sami Lachekar and Mohammed Sumaila, and goalkeeper Seth Wilson also earned All-SoCon preseason recognition. Dovlo and Haruna were second-team All-SoCon choices last season, with Haruna also landing a spot on the All-Freshman Team and earning SoCon Freshman of the Year honors. Sumaila was an All-Freshman choice for the Spartans in 2024.

The Paladins earned the SoCon’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament last November and went on to a first-round win at North Carolina. Furman went 2-1-2 in SoCon play in 2024 and posted a 9-4-6 ledger overall.

Forwards Lloyd Wamu Snell and Wilfer Bustamante, midfielder Luke Hutzell, defender Ryan Wagner, and 2024 SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year Aaron Salinas were named to the preseason All-SoCon Team. Salinas was also a first-team All-SoCon selection last season. Snell, Bustamante, and Hutzell each earned second-team All-SoCon honors in 2024.

Mercer (16 points), ETSU (13 points), Wofford (10 points), and VMI (5 points) rounded out the coaches’ preseason poll.

Wofford midfielder Jakob Andersson, who has 17 career assists in three seasons, also earned a spot on the preseason All-SoCon team.

The 2025 regular season begins for all six teams on Thursday, August 21. Furman will battle No. 8 UC San Diego in a top 20 clash that afternoon in Durham, N.C., and four of the six SoCon squads will play in their home stadiums.

First-place votes in parentheses.