BOSTON – The 2015 Suffolk men's soccer team was selected to finish eighth by the league's 10 coaches in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) preseason poll, according to an announcement made by the league's office Monday.
The Rams, who earned 35 points, were pegged to finish ahead of Rivier (20) and Anna Maria (16). The defending GNAC Champion Johnson & Wales is favored to win the league, with Norwich, Albertus Magnus, Lasell and Mount Ida picked to round out the top five.
Led by the play of Alberto Bittan and Ben Daniels, who were named to the All-GNAC second and third team, respectively, in 2014, Suffolk finished last season with a 5-10 record (3-4-2 GNAC) en route to an appearance in the GNAC Quarterfinals.
Suffolk will open the 2015 season on its new home turf, East Boston Memorial Stadium, Tuesday, Sept. 1 when it will meet 2014 NCAA participant Husson for the first time in program history. Game time is slated for 3:15 p.m.
2015 GNAC MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES' POLL | ||||||
SCHOOL 1. Johnson & Wales 2. Norwich 3. Albertus Magnus 4. Lasell 5. Mount Ida T6. Emmanuel T6. St. Joseph (Maine) 8. Suffolk 9. Rivier 10. Anna Maria |
POINTS (FPV) 96 (6) 89 (2) 77 (1) 66 57 47 (1) 47 35 20 16 |
2014 OVERALL 15-6-1 13-7-2 11-7-2 9-9-1 9-9-1 5-11-2 5-15 5-10-2 1-14-1 4-12 |
GNAC RECORD 8-1 5-2-2 5-3-1 5-3-1 4-4-1 4-5 3-6 3-4-2 1-7-1 3-6 |