FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2015
Southern New Hampshire Selected First in Coaches' Poll
MANSFIELD, Mass. – Coming off its third Northeast-10 title in a row, the Southern New Hampshire men's soccer team was picked to defend that crown once again by the league's coaches, as the conference announced its 2015 Preseason Coaches' Poll on Monday.
The Penmen garnered 169 total points and 13 of the 14 possible first-place votes. Coming in at No. 2 was Southern Connecticut, claiming 154 points while taking the other lone first-place nod.
Last season, the Penmen defeated the Owls, 5-2, in the Northeast-10 Championship Game to earn their sixth league title.
For complete results of the coaches' poll, please see below.
Next up was Merrimack at No. 3 with 140 points, followed closely by Adelphi in fourth with 137. Sitting in fifth place was Le Moyne with 114 points, while Franklin Pierce earned 106 points for the sixth spot.
Stonehill collected 98 points for seventh, followed by Bentley at No. 8 with 79. American International was ninth with 74, and Saint Michael's rounded out the top-10 with 57 points. Assumption (54 points), Saint Rose (41), Saint Anselm (27) and New Haven (24) concluded the rest of the NE-10 field.
Three Northeast-10 squads appeared in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) NCAA Division II Preseason Rankings earlier this month. So. New Hampshire stood at No. 7 after posting a 17-1-2 mark (11-1-1 NE-10) last season. Merrimack and So. Connecticut came in at 15th and 16th, respectively.
Leading the Penmen will be first-year head coach Josh Taylor, who spent the previous seven seasons as an assistant coach with the program.
The 2015 NE-10 men's soccer season will kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 3. The Northeast-10 Championship Quarterfinals will begin Tuesday, Nov. 3, with the semifinals scheduled for Friday, Nov. 6. The NE-10 title game is set for Sunday, Nov. 8.
1. So. New Hampshire - 169 (13)
(#) - indicates first-place votes
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
