Men’s Soccer ranked No. 14 in NAIA Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Roster | Schedule | Preseason Top 25

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- A day after being tabbed as the preseason favorite in the North Star Athletic Association Preseason Coaches' Poll the Bellevue University men's soccer team has earned the No. 14 ranking in the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Poll.

Bellevue posted a 15-3-2 mark last season, matching the second-highest win total in program history, while claiming the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The Bruins defeated Hastings in the first round of the NAIA Tournament to reach the final site for just the second time in program history (2009).

This season Bellevue returns eight starters from a year ago and has a roster that returns over 70 per cent (33 of 47 goals) of its goal-scoring from a year ago. Defense was the perhaps the most prominent calling card of BU a season ago as the team conceded just 14 goals in 20 matches (0.68 goals against average) and limited opponents to less than four shots on goal per game (3.95).

Bellevue opens the season this Saturday at 5:30 p.m. when they host No. 4 Grand View at Bellevue Soccer Club in the Red Card Cancer game.

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Davenport (Mich.) will begin the 2015 season on top of the rankings, as the Panthers sit No. 1 in the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Panthers earn their third-ever top billing in school history with all 17 first-place votes and 467 total points. Davenport won its' first-ever men's soccer national title with a 2-1 come-from-behind overtime victory against Texas at Brownsville last December.

Despite losing 2014 NAIA goals champion and NAIA Player of the Year in Dzenan Catic, the Panthers look to improve upon a 2014 campaign when they recorded a school-best 22-3-1 mark. Select Sport America-NAIA Men's Soccer Coach of the Year Chris Hughes welcomes back junior midfielder TJ Ifaturoti, who is the top returning goal scorer at 11 markers. Davenport wastes no time in facing tough competition with the season opener at No. 11 Thomas (Ga.) on Aug. 21. That match is followed by contests against No. 13 Georgia Gwinnett (Aug. 22), No. 15 Ashford (Iowa) (Sept. 5) and No. 5 Grand View (Iowa) (Sept. 6).

Fellow Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) member Northwestern Ohio drops in at the No. 2 position. The Racers, who advanced to the semifinals of the 2014 national championship, compiled 428 total points. The ranking is the highest in program history. Ten starters are slated to return this year, led by junior midfielder Carlos Suarez, a 2014 NAIA Second Team All-America selection.

With 426 points, No. 3 Marymount California moves up one spot from the postseason Top 25. No. 4 Grand View (Iowa) and No. 5 Rio Grande (Ohio) tallied 423 and 389 points, respectively.

Since the 2014 Postseason Top 25 edition, No. 13 Georgia Gwinnett improved the most within the poll moving up six spots. Conversely, No. 15 Ashford tumbled down six positions.

The lone newcomer is No. 25 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.). The Tigers, out of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, land in the Top 25 for the first time since the 2013 Preseason ranking on Aug. 20, 2013 (No. 25).

Seventeen of the 19 conferences, Association of Independent Institutions (AII) and unaffiliated group were represented this week. The Heart of America Athletic Conference and the Southern States Athletic Conference tied for the most representatives in the Top 25 with three apiece. The AII, Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, The Sun Conference and WHAC each had a pair of teams nationally ranked.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The first regular-season Top 25 Poll will be announced on Sept. 22.

For the complete men's soccer ratings calendar, click here.

NOTES: (All information dates back to 2000) Davenport (Mich.) now is tied for No. 9 with the most No. 1 mentions (three) since 2000… Davenport is trying to become the first team to be ranked preseason No. 1 and win the national championship in the same season since Lindsey Wilson did it in 2001… Last season, there were 45 different teams to be ranked at least once – thirteen teams held a ranking in each of the 11 polls (which includes Preseason)… Davenport joins Rio Grande, Thomas (Ga.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Martin Methodist (Tenn.) as the top-ranked teams this year… Lindsey Wilson is the longest consecutively-ranked active school at 95-straight polls, dating back to the first installment of the 2007 Top 25 Poll (Sept. 5)… Rio Grande is next in line with 88-consecutive rankings, followed by Missouri Valley at 55… Lindsey Wilson boasts the most all-time No. 1 rankings with 48, followed by Rio Grande with 46, Bethel (Tenn.) with 11 and Hastings with 10… Overall, 21 different teams have claimed the No. 1 spot in the poll… Lindsey Wilson has held the top spot at least one time in each of the past seven seasons (since 2008)… Rio Grande has garnered at least one top ranking in each of the past three seasons and four out of the last five overall… Since 2000, just two teams have spent the entire season ranked No. 1—Bethel in 2009 and Rio Grande in 2004.