Southern New Hampshire Preseason Video (Courtesy of Pack Network)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

[Click Here For Full Release]


South Easton, Mass. – The reigning Northeast-10 Men’s Soccer champions are picked to claim the Northeast-10 Regular Season title this year as voted by the conference’s head coaches. Southern New Hampshire University (15-3-4, 9-1-3 NE-10) received seven first-place votes for a total of 188 points.

The Penmen finished just ahead of Franklin Pierce University (13-8-2, 9-3-1 NE-10) and the University of Massachusetts Lowell (13-4-4, 9-1-3 NE-10) in the poll. The Ravens received one first-place vote and 174 points to slightly overcome the River Hawks who picked up four first-place votes with 172 points.

Le Moyne College (13-6-3, 9-3-1 NE-10) is picked to finish fourth with 147 points, while Southern Connecticut State University (6-7-5, 5-3-5 NE-10) followed close behind with one first-place vote and 146 points to round out the top five.

Merrimack College (10-4-4, 7-4-2 NE-10) received 126 points and is predicted to finish in sixth place followed by Bentley University (8-9-2, 5-6-2 NE-10) with 95 points. Assumption College (6-7-5, 5-4-4 NE-10) is picked to finish eighth with 83 points just ahead of Saint Michael’s College (7-8-3, 4-6-3 NE-10) who received 77 points. American International College (5-11-3, 3-7-3 NE-10) received 73 points as the Yellow Jackets are slated to finish tenth.

Rounding out the poll in order is Saint Anselm College (6-10-2, 4-7-2) with 69 points, the University of New Haven (4-14-0, 3-10-0 NE-10) with 62 points, the College of Saint Rose (3-12-1, 2-10-1 NE-10) with 31 points and Stonehill College (4-10-3, 1-10-2 NE-10) with 27 points.

Teams will begin their quest for the conference championship beginning on Friday, August 28 as six teams are in action to jump start the 2009 season. The first NE-10 conference match-up is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 1 with American International traveling to Bentley for a 3:30 p.m. contest.

The Northeast-10 championship is slated to begin on Sunday, Nov. 1 with the quarterfinals followed by the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The finals will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7. For more information on the upcoming season and for continuous coverage all season long visit the Northeast-10 Conference website at www.northeast10.org.

With 16 member institutions the Northeast-10 shares the distinction of being the largest Division II conference in the country along with the PSAC and WVIAC. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

- NE-10 -

2009 Northeast-10 Preseason Poll

1. So. New Hampshire (7) - 188
2. Franklin Pierce (1) - 174
3. UMass Lowell (4) - 172
4. Le Moyne - 147
5. So. Connecticut (1) - 146
6. Merrimack - 126
7. Bentley - 95
8. Assumption - 83
9. Saint Michael's - 77
10. American Int'l - 73
11. Saint Anselm (1) - 69
12. New Haven - 62
13. Saint Rose - 31
14. Stonehill - 27