ANNVILLE, Pa. (Men’s Soccer) – The Eastern Eagles were selected as the favorite in the 2017 conference preseason poll conducted among the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) men’s soccer coaches. The Eagles received 44 points and five of the eight first-place votes.
 
Misericordia collected the final three first-place votes for a total of 40 points to be positioned second. Manhattanville earned 35 points, King’s received 34 points and DeSales collected 31 points to round out the top-5 in the preseason poll.
 
The rest of the poll in respective order includes FDU-Florham (20 points), Wilkes (13 points) and Delaware Valley (7 points).
 
Eastern defeated Misericordia in the 2016 MAC Freedom Championship Match in penalty kicks to claim its second-straight conference title. The Eagles opened the NCAA Division III Championship with a win against Rochester, but then fell to SUNY Oneonta in double overtime in the second round.
 
Joining Eastern (2) and Misericordia (1) at the 2016 conference championship were King’s (3) and DeSales (4).
 
Eastern received votes in the United Soccer Coaches, formerly the NSCAA, Division III Preseason Poll in early August.
 
The 2017 MAC Freedom Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll and 2016 final standings can be viewed below.

 

2017 MAC Freedom Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Poll
Rank	Team	Points	(1st Place Votes)
1	Eastern	44	(5)
2	Misericordia	40	(3)
3	Manhattanville	35
4	King's	34
5	DeSales	31
6	FDU-Florham	20
7	Wilkes	13
8	Delaware Valley	7
2016 MAC Freedom Men's Soccer Final Standings
Finish	Team	Conf.	Overall
1	Misericordia	6-1-0	12-5-3
2	Eastern	5-2-0	15-4-3
T3 (3)	King's	4-3-0	9-8-2
T3 (4)	DeSales	4-3-0	9-9-2
T3	Manhattanville	4-3-0	11-7-0
T3	FDU-Florham	4-3-0	6-8-3
7	Wilkes	1-6-0	3-14-0
8	Delaware Valley	0-7-0	7-11-1