Wingate has been tabbed the South Atlantic Conference favorite for the 2023 men’s soccer season, the conference announced today. The Bulldogs collected seven first-place votes and 113 total points, as voted by the league’s head men’s soccer coaches.

The Bulldogs won the 2022 SAC Men’s Soccer Regular Season Title and finished the season 10-5-7 overall and 6-1-4 in conference play. A quartet of preseason all-conference first team players return to lead the Bulldogs, including Pedro Santos, Owen Marshall, Niclas Wittur, and Aleksa Janjic.

Lenoir-Rhyne claimed the No. 2 spot with 101 points and two first place votes. Coker earned the No. 3 ranking with 98 points and one first place vote, while Catawba was picked to finish at No. 4 with 88 total points and one first place vote. Carson-Newman came in at No. 5 with 87 points with one first place vote, and Limestone followed at No. 6 with 82 points.

Lincoln Memorial slides into the No. 7 spot with 56 points and Mars Hill was tabbed No. 8 with 54 points. Anderson came in at No. 9 with 49 points and Tusculum earned the No. 10 ranking with 29 points. Rounding out the poll were Newberry at No. 11 with 24 points, and Emory & Henry at No. 12 with 11 points.

In addition to the 2023 SAC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the 2023 SAC Men’s Soccer Preseason All-Conference teams were also announced. Voted on by the league’s media relations directors, the preseason all-conference teams feature five players from Catawba and Coker, four players from Tusculum and Wingate, three players from Mars Hill, Lenoir-Rhyne, and Anderson, two players from Limestone, Lincoln Memorial, and Newberry, and one player from Carson-Newman.

The 2023 SAC Men’s Soccer Championship will take place November 10th and 12th at the Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, N.C.

2023 Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll

School (First Place Votes) Points

Wingate (7) 113
Lenoir-Rhyne (2) 101
Coker (1) 98
Catawba (1) 88
Carson-Newman (1) 87
Limestone 82
Lincoln Memorial 56
Mars Hill 54
Anderson 49
Tusculum 29
Newberry 24
Emory & Henry 11

2023 SAC Men’s Soccer Preseason All-Conference
First Team
F – Peter Plougmand, Mars Hill
F – Sebastia Cerda-Tous, Catawba
F – Mark Radoki, Limestone
F – Adrian Martina, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Celestin Blondel, Coker
MF – Pedro Santos, Wingate
MF – Nikola Sotra, Coker
MF – Nic Carsh, Carson-Newman
D – Owen Marshall, Wingate
D – Niclas Wittur, Wingate
D – Oliver Gardner, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Stefan Roeb, Limestone
GK – Aleksa Janjic, Wingate

Second Team
F – Frederic Benedix, Coker
F – Jorge Perez Prada, Mars Hill
F – Diego Jaramillo, Anderson
MF – Peter Majer, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Kriton Kiousis, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Salano Birch, Catawba
MF – Lucas Goldberg, Anderson
D – Matty Tricker, Coker
D – Harri Rowe, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Harry McDonnell, Newberry
D – Othmane Chagour, Tusculum
GK – Jasper Rump, Coker

Third Team
MF – Joseph Allerton, Catawba
MF – Michele Di Miele, Tusculum
MF – Lars Schutrups, Tusculum
MF – Ethan Orozco, Newberry
D – Mariano Carpena, Anderson
D – Jacopo Suagher, Catawba
D – Luke Manley, Mars Hill
D – Linus Salomonsen, Tusculum
GK – Zak Stiffler, Catawba