Dominican unanimous favorite for third-straight men's soccer title
WAUKESHA, Wis. -- The Northern Athletics conference men's soccer coaches unanimously chose Dominican University to win a third straight NAC men's soccer title, according to the preseason coaches' poll.
The Stars, who received all 12 first place votes, return four first team All-NAC players from last season's NCAA Division III championship tournament team. Dominican (17-4-1, 9-0-1 NAC) has yet to lose a regular season conference contest in the NAC, compiling an 18-0-1 record the first two years of the league.
Aurora University (12-4-5, 8-0-2) was tabbed second in the poll with 127 points. The Spartans have finished second in the conference the previous two season, and earned a trip to the NCAA III championship tournament in 2006.
Edgewood College was picked third tallying 118 poll points. The Eagles (10-7-1, 7-3) have yet to advance to the NAC tournament final, but also have yet to lose a tournament contest. Edgewood has tied in semifinal games the last two seasons, but failed to advance on shootouts both games.
Concordia University Wisconsin (12-7-1, 7-3) was picked fourth, Wisconsin Lutheran College (10-9-1, 6-3-1) fifth and MSOE (8-8-1, 4-6) was picked sixth.
Lakeland College (4-14, 4-6) was selected seventh, Marian University (3-12-1, 3-7) eighth and Benedictine University (2-13, 1-9) ninth.
Maranatha Baptist Bible College (7-13, 2-8), Concordia University Chicago (3-14-1, 2-8) and Rockford College (did not compete in 2007) were chosen for the final three spots.
The Northern Athletics Conference tournament champion will automatically qualify for the NCAA Division III men's soccer championship in November.
2008 NAC Men's Soccer
Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Dominican University (12), 144
2. Aurora University, 127
3. Edgewood College, 118
4. Concordia University Wisconsin, 109
5. Wisconsin Lutheran College, 90
6. MSOE, 79
7. Lakeland College, 75
8. Marian University, 66
9. Benedictine University, 42
10. Maranatha Baptist Bible College, 35
11. Concordia University Chicago, 33
12. Rockford College, 18
(first place votes in parentheses)