RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – On Thursday, the Great American Conference announced the results of its 2022 men's soccer preseason coaches' poll. Fort Hays State received four of the seven first-place votes from the league's head coaches to enter the season as the favorite. Southern Nazarene finished second in the balloting.
The Tigers claimed their first GAC/MIAA Championship title then won a pair of NCAA Tournament games to reach the national quarterfinals. The Tigers return the league's top goal scorer, Blake Arndt. He totaled 13 goals and 30 points. They also bring back First-Team All-GAC/MIAA goalkeeper Kieran Brown. He led the conference in goals-against average, shutouts, saves and saves percentage.
The Crimson Storm received two first-place votes following a season that culminated in a regular-season title. Forward Daniel Trojman returns after claiming the league's Newcomer of the Year honor. He scored seven goals - including five game winners. Defender Federico Anzoletti also made the First Team and Trevor Harmon garnered the league's Coach of the Year honor.
Rogers State picked up the final first-place vote and took third in the poll. The Hillcats must replace their three First-Team All-GAC/MIAA selections in Callum Hubble, Jaxon Pitt and Mike Turner. Ruben Carrasco ranked second on the team with six goals and 14 points. Goalkeeper Declan Viljoen posted a 0.87 goals-against average and recorded six shutouts.
Northeastern State finished fourth, one point ahead of Harding. The RiverHawks upset the Crimson Storm to reach the finals of the GAC/MIAA Championships for the second-straight season. They bring back their leading scorer, Flynn Semmerling. He scored eight goals and tallied 19 points. The Bisons also return their leading scorer in Georgios Petousis.
Newman and Ouachita rounded out the poll. The Jets' Joao Moreira scored a team-leading seven goals. The Tigers bring back their top three scorers in David Stankovic, Ebon Jordan and Bobby Boone.
The regular season opens in two weeks as six schools - Fort Hays State, Southern Nazarene, Rogers State, Harding, Newman and Ouachita - hit the pitch. Northeastern State begins one day later.The GAC/MIAA Championships feature the top four teams head to the venue of the top seed for semifinals on Friday, November 4 and the final set for Sunday, November 6.
