ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum University men's soccer team has been picked to finish ninth in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, the SAC office announced Wednesday.

The Pioneers finished 2-4-1 overall and 1-4-1 in conference play during the abbreviated 2021 spring season, tied for ninth in the overall league standings.

Ten players who started more than half of last year's games are back for the Pioneers this fall, as head coach Allen Vital begins his 25th season overall and 11th at his alma mater. Vital has led the Pioneers to three SAC Tournament championships during his first 10 seasons, winning the title in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Defending league champion Wingate, which is ranked sixth in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Division II poll, received 10 first-place votes and 131 points to earn the top spot in the SAC poll. Lenoir-Rhyne, which lost to Wingate in the championship match last spring, earned 119 points and one first-place vote to take second place, followed by Carson-Newman which had the other first place vote and 114 total points.

Anderson (97 points) is fourth in the preseason poll, followed by Limestone (92), Queens (80) and Lincoln Memorial (72) in seventh. Mars Hill (63 points) is eighth, followed by Tusculum (48), Coker (39), Newberry (38) and Catawba (31).

The Pioneers will visit Spring Hill on Friday, Sept. 3 in their season opener and will play at Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday, Sept. 15 to begin their 11-game conference slate. Tusculum's first home game will be Sunday, Sept. 19 against Mars Hill, with the regular season concluding at home against Queens on Wednesday, Nov. 3.

2021 SAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll