Conference Newcomer Francis Marion Tops Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Francis Marion has been picked to win the regular season title in the 2021 Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
The conference office officially unveiled the preseason poll on Aug. 19, 2021. The preseason poll was voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Francis Marion is one of two new members to Conference Carolinas in 2021 and they went 4-3-4 in the Peach Belt last season. The Patriots received eight first-place votes and 112 points overall to secure the top spot in the 2021 preseason tally. Chowan collected one first-place vote and was second in the poll with 104 points. Erskine, the defending regular season champion, was picked third with 103 points and the remaining three first-place votes.
Barton (95) was fifth in the preseason poll and they were followed by Belmont Abbey (85), North Greenville (68), Mount Olive (65), Emmanuel and King (42), Lees-McRae (34), Converse (29) and Southern Wesleyan (13).
The 2021 season gets underway on Thursday, Sept. 2 with conference play beginning on Sept. 18. The first two rounds of the conference tournament will take place on campus sites at the higher seeds on Nov. 3 and 6. The semifinals and championship, Nov. 12 and 14, will be played at the Florence Soccer Complex in Florence, South Carolina.
2021 Conference Carolinas
Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
| School |
Total (First Place) |
| Francis Marion |
112 (8) |
| Chowan |
104 (1) |
| Erskine |
103 (3) |
| Barton |
95 |
| Belmont Abbey |
85 |
| North Greenville |
68 |
| Mount Olive |
65 |
| Emmanuel |
42 |
| King |
42 |
| Lees-McRae |
34 |
| Converse |
29 |
| Southern Wesleyan |
13 |
2021 Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer
Players to Watch
Barton
- Luis Hernandez Velasco, Sr., Forward, Guadarrama, Spain (2020-21 All-Conference Second Team)
- Tobias Nielsen, Jr., Defense, Rask Moelle, Denmark (2020-21 All-Conference Carolinas First Team)
- Jacob Randolph, Jr., Goalkeeper, Metairie, Louisiana (2020-21 All-Conference Carolinas Second Team)
Belmont Abbey
- Zion Duncan, So., Forward, Lincoln, Nebraska
- Trevor Mueller, So., Forward, East Northport, New York
- Miwoned Siraj, So., Midfield, Union City, California
Chowan
- Harri Lovett, Jr., Midfield, Wrexhem, Wales (2020-21 All-Conference Carolinas First Team)
- Toby Sims, Sr., Defender, Tuxford, England (2018, 2019 & 2020-21 All-Conference Carolinas First Team, 2018 & 2019 Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year, 2017 All-Conference Carolinas Second Team)
Emmanuel
- Kevin Fitzgerald, Jr., Midfield, Roscrea, Ireland
- Derek Fournier, Sr., Defense, Phoenix, Arizona
- Marco Lang, Jr., Midfield, Graz, Austria
Erskine
- Dennis Cole, Sr., Forward, Freetown, Sierra Leone (2020-21 All-Conference Carolinas Second Team)
- Oscar Hernandez, Jr., Defense, Salamanca, Spain (2020-21 All-Conference Carolinas First Team)
- Evan Zizek, So., Goalkeeper, Nobleton, Ontario, Canada (2020-21 All-Conference Carolinas First Team & Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year)
Francis Marion
- Oliver Peters, Sr., Midfield, Ipswich, Suffolk, England (2020-21 All-Peach Belt Conference, 2019 PBC Tournament MVP)
- Sam Pollard, Sr., Defense/Midfield, Perth, Australia (3-time All-Peach Belt Conference selection, 2019 United Soccer Coaches All-Region)
- Alvaro Zamora, Jr., Forward, Madrid, Spain (2-time All-Peach Belt Conference; 2019 PBC Co-Freshman of the Year; 2019 United Soccer Coaches All-Region)
King
- Ben Delisle, Sr., Forward, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, (2020-21 All-Conference Carolinas Second Team, 2019 All-Conference Carolinas First Team & D2CCA First Team All-Southeast Region)
- Andrew Rhoda, Sr., Midfielder, Cape Town, South Africa
- Zubair Taylor, Sr., Midfielder, Cape Town, South Africa
Lees-McRae
- Zach Aversano, Sr., Midfield, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
- Johannes Oeksnevad, Sr., Forward, Sandnes, Norway, (2017 All-Conference Carolinas Second Team & Freshman of the Year)
- Nate Phillips, So., Defense, Kingston Springs, Tennessee
North Greenville
- Carlos Navarro, R-Jr., Midfield, Cali, Colombia (2020-21 All-Conference Carolinas First Team)
- Luiz Neto, Graduate Student, Forward/Wing, Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Keletso Mathathe, R-Sr., Forward, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa (2020-21 All-Conference Carolinas Third Team)
Southern Wesleyan
- Hykeem Martin, Jr., Midfield, Greenwood, S.C.
- Feren Nunez, Fr., Midfield, Easley, S.C.
- Austin Snow, Jr., Forward, Easley, S.C.