Men's Soccer 8/24/2017 11:00:00 AM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Men's Soccer Picked Tenth In ECC Preseason Poll

2017 ECC MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
Rank	School	Pts.	2016 Record
1	LIU Post (10)	100	18-1-1, 8-0-1 ECC
2	NYIT	84	10-4-4, 5-2-2 ECC
3	Molloy	83	11-5-1, 7-2 ECC
4	St. Thomas Aquinas	58	8-5-5, 3-2-4 ECC
5	Mercy	57	9-4-3, 3-4-2 ECC
6	District of Columbia	54	5-11-1, 4-4-1 ECC
7	Queens	40	6-7-4, 3-4-2 ECC
8	Bridgeport	34	3-11-2, 3-4-2 ECC
9	Roberts Wesleyan	26	4-11-1, 2-7 ECC
10	DAEMEN	14	2-15, 0-9 ECC
( ) - first place votes

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's soccer team has been picked to finish 10th in the East Coast Conference this season according to the ECC preseason poll which was released today from conference headquarters in West Babylon, N.Y. following a vote of the league's 10 head coaches.

Daemen earned 14 points in the poll after going 2-15 overall and 0-9 in the league last season. The Wildcats' 31-man roster features just seven returners. With so many new faces, second-year head coach Bobby McColl is excited for the team-building process.

"We're not so much concerned about preseason polls and rankings right now," said McColl. "With 24 players who are new to our program, including 22 freshmen, we're really just trying to build some chemistry and have everyone get to know one another. This is another step in the process of building a competitive NCAA Division II program. I like what I've seen thus far and that makes me hopeful that we'll be able to get better throughout the season, and that we'll see some results out there on the field."

Long Island University Post, which has won four of the last five ECC titles including last season, was voted as the unanimous favorite this season. The Pioneers picked up all 10 first-place votes and finished with 100 points in the voting. They'll begin the season ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Association Division II Preseason Poll.

N.Y. Institute of Technology (84 points), Molloy College (83 points) and St. Thomas Aquinas College (58 points) round out the teams picked to finish in qualifying positions for the ECC Tournament. All three won were conference tournament qualifiers last season with at least eight wins apiece.

Mercy College picked up 57 points to sit fifth in the poll, just one point behind STAC. University of the District of Columbia (54 points), Queens College (40 points), University of Bridgeport (34 points) and Roberts Wesleyan College (26 points) filled poll spots six through nine ahead of Daemen.

In addition to announcing the league's preseason poll, Charlie Ledula of LIU Post was named the ECC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Molloy's Raul Bonilla was named the ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Ledula, the reigning ECC Offensive Player of the Year, led the league with 18 goals and 42 points last season. Bonilla, the 2016 ECC Goalkeeper of the Year, led the league with a save percentage of .802 while posting 65 saves, a 0.99 goals-against average and seven shutouts.

Among the returners for Daemen a pair of experienced players who were limited last season. Red-shirt senior midfielder Logan Podrebarac (Burlington, Ont./Tiffin University), who made 21 starts between 2014-15, returns after appearing in just eight games last season due to an injury. Also back is red-shirt senior forward Alex Reid (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) who missed all of the 2016 season with an injury. Reid has posted 13 goals, seven assists and 33 points in 47 games during his career.

Daemen opens its 2017 season by hosting Le Moyne College on Thursday, August 31 at the newly-renovated Karrer Field. ECC play kicks off with the Wildcats traveling to STAC on Saturday, September 16. The ECC Tournament will feature the top four teams in the final regular season standings with the No. 1 and 2 seeds hosting semifinal games on October 31; the highest remaining seed hosts the tournament finals on November 3.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen men's soccer team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenMSOC on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Cole Beale: M/F; 5' 10"; Senior

#1 Justin Figler: GK; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#19 Kyle Tracy: M; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#12 Logan Podrebarac: M/D; 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior

#22 Alex Reid: M/F; 5' 7"; Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

#10 Cole Beale
: 5' 10"; Senior
: M/F

#1 Justin Figler
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: GK

#19 Kyle Tracy
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: M

#12 Logan Podrebarac
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior
: M/D

#22 Alex Reid
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Senior
: M/F