College men: 2014 conference preseason polls, honors
UW-Milwaukee is the team to beat in Horizon League soccer this fall.
The Panthers' run to the league's tournament title and their first NCAA berth since 2005 left an impression on conference men's coaches, who made them the favorites in this year's race. Their women's team also is the Horizon preseason favorite.
Milwaukee received 62 points and six of the nine first-place votes in the men's preseason coaches' poll. Illinois-Chicago, which won the regular-season title ahead of the Panthers in 2013 but dropped a 2-0 decision to them in the tournament final, was second with 56 points and three first-place votes.
UW-Green Bay, under the direction of interim coach Marc Baumbach this season after Dan Popik's resignation last month, was picked to finish last in the league. Belmont has joined the Horizon League for men's soccer only, giving the league nine teams.
| Place | Team | 1st-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UW-Milwaukee | 6 | 62 |
| 2 | Illinois-Chicago | 3 | 56 |
| 3 | Oakland | 44 | |
| 3 | Cleveland State | 44 | |
| 5 | Valparaiso | 38 | |
| 6 | Wright State | 34 | |
| 7 | Detroit | 16 | |
| 7 | Belmont | 16 | |
| 9 | UW-Green Bay | 14 |
BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Last fall, Marquette and Georgetown finished tied atop the Big East Conference standings. A year later, conference coaches don't see much changing.
The Golden Eagles and Hoyas each received 75 points in the preseason coaches' poll – though Georgetown has a slight advantage, having claimed five first-place votes compared to four for Marquette.
Golden Eagles junior defender Axel Sjöberg was named the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and was earned one of 15 spots on the Preseason All-Big East team. Two teammates joined the center back on the honor squad: Junior forward C. Nortey and sophomore midfielder Louis Bennett II (Shorewood).
| Place | Team | 1st-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Georgetown | 5 | 75 |
| T1 | Marquette | 4 | 75 |
| 3 | Creighton | 1 | 63 |
| 4 | St. John's | 54 | |
| 5 | Providence | 48 | |
| 6 | Butler | 43 | |
| 7 | Xavier | 38 | |
| 8 | Villanova | 23 | |
| 9 | Seton Hall | 19 | |
| 10 | DePaul | 12 |
BIG TEN CONFERENCE
After losing 13 seniors and having defender A.J. Cochran forego his senior season to sign with Major League Soccer, the University of Wisconsin was picked by coaches to finish seventh in the new-look Big Ten Conference.
Newcomer Maryland, which joined the league along with Rutgers to make it a nine-team conference, is the preseason favorite. Badgers junior midfielder Drew Conner, senior defender-midfielder David Caban (Kenosha Tremper) and senior midfielder-forward Jacob Brindle were among the Big Ten Players to Watch.
| Place | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland |
| 2 | Michigan State |
| 3 | Michigan |
| 4 | Penn State |
| 5 | Indiana |
| 6 | Northwestern |
| 7 | Wisconsin |
| 8 | Rutgers |
| 9 | Ohio State |
GREAT LAKES VALLEY CONFERENCE
| Place | Team | 1st-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indianapolis | 8 | 213 |
| 2 | Quincy (Ill.) | 4 | 204 |
| 3 | Rockhurst (Mo.) | 3 | 198 |
| 4 | Lewis (Ill.) | 1 | 189 |
| 5 | Drury (Mo.) | 170 | |
| 6 | Bellarmine (Kent.) | 154 | |
| 7 | Missouri-St. Louis | 132 | |
| 8 | Missouri S&T | 115 | |
| 9 | Southern Indiana | 111 | |
| 10 | Truman State (Mo.) | 105 | |
| 11 | UW-Parkside | 75 | |
| 12 | McKendree (Ill.) | 74 | |
| 13 | Illinois-Springfield | 67 | |
| 14 | William Jewell (Mo.) | 62 | |
| 15 | Maryville (Mo.) | 26 | |
| 16 | St. Joseph's (Ind.) | 25 |
WISCONSIN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
| Place | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | UW-Oshkosh |
| 2 | UW-Whitewater |
| 3 | UW-Superior |
| 4 | UW-Platteville |
| 5 | Finlandia (Mich.) |
NORTHERN ATHLETICS COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE
| Place | Team | 1st-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dominican | 20 | 240 |
| 2 | Benedictine | 2 | 194 |
| 3 | Aurora (Ill.) | 187 | |
| 4 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 186 | |
| 5 | Concordia (Wis.) | 170 | |
| 6 | Edgewood College | 133 | |
| 7 | Wisconsin Lutheran | 113 | |
| 8 | Marian | 76 | |
| 9 | Lakeland | 75 | |
| 10 | Concordia (Ill.) | 53 | |
| 11 | Rockford (Ill.) | 25 |
MIDWEST CONFERENCE
| Place | Team | 1st-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carroll | 2 | 86 |
| 2 | St. Norbert | 1 | 84 |
| 3 | Lake Forest (Ill.) | 6 | 83 |
| 4 | Knox (Ill.) | 1 | 75 |
| 5 | Grinnell (Iowa) | 1 | 66 |
| 6 | Monmouth (Ill.) | 56 | |
| 7 | Lawrence | 53 | |
| 8 | Illinois College | 43 | |
| 9 | Ripon College | 28 | |
| 10 | Beloit College | 22 | |
| 11 | Cornell (Iowa) | 13 |
COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN
| Place | Team | 1st-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 5 | 47 |
| 2 | North Park (Ill.) | 2 | 41 |
| 3 | Carthage | 1 | 38 |
| 4 | Elmhurst (Ill.) | 34 | |
| 5 | North Central (Ill.) | 21 | |
| 6 | Illinois Wesleyan | 19 | |
| T7 | Augustana (Ill.) | 12 | |
| T7 | Millikin (Ill.) | 12 |
UPPER MIDWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
| Place | Team | 1st-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Scholastica (Minn.) | 7 | 49 |
| 2 | Minnesota-Morris | 1 | 42 |
| 3 | Northwestern (Minn.) | 38 | |
| 4 | Bethany Lutheran (Minn.) | 31 | |
| 5 | Martin Luther (Minn.) | 22 | |
| 6 | Crown (Minn.) | 19 | |
| 7 | Northland College | 13 | |
| 8 | North Central (Minn.) | 10 |
MIDWEST COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE
| Place | Team | 1st-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand View (Iowa) | 6 | 48 |
| 2 | AIB (Iowa) | 1 | 35 |
| 2 | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | 35 | |
| 4 | Mount Mercy (Iowa) | 27 | |
| 5 | William Penn (Iowa) | 26 | |
| 6 | Viterbo | 14 | |
| 7 | Clarke (Iowa) | 11 |
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