Men's Soccer Picked Fifth in Northeast-10 Preseason Poll
SOUTH EASTON, MA. - The Merrimack men's soccer team has been picked to finish fifth according to the 2008 Northeast-10 preseason poll.
Led by head Tony Martone, in his 27th season and captain Matt Sanderson (Saugus, MA), the Warriors will look to continue the success in 2007 that saw them ranked as high as ninth nationally and reach the conference championship game after upsetting the eventual national champion Franklin Pierce in the semifinals. Losing to Southern Connecticut 2-1 in the NE-10 finals, Merrimack narrowly missed out on its first NCAA Tournament bid.
| Northeast-10 Men's Soccer Poll |
| first place votes in parenthesis |
| 1. Franklin Pierce (13) 195 |
| 2. UMass Lowell (1) 180 |
| 3. So. Connecticut 170 |
| 4. Le Moyne 141 |
| 5. Merrimack 139 |
| 6. Southern NH 131 |
| 7. American International 101 |
| 8. Saint Michael's 86 |
| 9. New Haven 85 |
| 10. Assumption 68 |
| 11. Saint Anselm 65 |
| 12. Bentley 60 |
| 13. Stonehill 27 |
| 14. Saint Rose 22 |
Franklin Pierce received 13 of 14 first-place votes, with UMass Lowell earning the other.
Senior Tiago Dalboni (Medford, MA), who led Merrimack with 11 goals, nine assists and 31 points in 2007, returns for his final campaign in what is already a stellar college career.Southern Connecticut was picked third, with Le Moyne, who Merrimack upset in the Northeast-10 Quarterfinals in double overtime getting the fourth spot. Merrimack was fifth followed by Southern New Hampshire.
The Warriors open the season August 29th against Felician at 2 p.m. at the Doubletree Classic in Colchester, VT. The home opener is against Saint Anselm at 6 p.m. on September 6th at Warrior Field.
