INDIANAPOLIS – For the second year in a row, the Rockhurst University men's soccer team has been chosen by the league coaches to win the 2017 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship, it was announced by the Conference office Thursday.
The Hawks, who finished the 2016 campaign with a 17-3-2 record and a visit to the NCAA national semifinals, earned all 14 possible first-place votes for 196 total points and the top spot in the GLVC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll. In addition to the No. 1 ranking in the GLVC Preseason Poll, Rockhurst was picked third in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Preseason Rankings. The team returns to the pitch under the direction of long-time mentor and reigning back-to-back GLVC Coach of the Year Tony Tocco, who led his squad to a GLVC Championship and NCAA Midwest Regional crown last season, going 12-1-2 in league play. GLVC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year Kaleb Jackson and Connor Mullen, respectively, come back to the Hawks’ lineup along with two other 2016 All-GLVC performers.
University of Indianapolis will be back in 2017 led by John Higgins, entering his eighth season at the helm, after garnering 169 points for second in the GLVC Preseason Poll. The Greyhounds enter the season with a large roster that includes four seniors, 10 juniors, seven sophomores and 33 freshmen.
University of Southern Indiana, under the guidance of ninth-year head coach Mat Santoro, enters 2017 as the league’s third pick after tallying 153 total points. Forward Eric Ramirez, the 2016 GLVC Freshman of the Year, is back in Evansville with All-GLVC first-team choice Adam Zehme between the pipes. Returning Second Team All-GLVC midfielder Kyle Richardville will join the pair.
Missouri S&T (150) earned the other first-place vote and the No. 4 spot in the pole, while Drury University rounded out the top-five with 143 points. Quincy University took the sixth spot with 141 points; University of Missouri-St. Louis earned 117 points and seventh place, while Maryville University (116), Bellarmine University (87) and University of Illinois Springfield (75) respectively rounded out the top 10 in eighth, ninth and 10th. Lewis University and McKendree University tied for 11th with 63 points, and Truman State University picked up 50 points for No. 13. University of Wisconsin-Parkside (36) and William Jewell College (16) finished 14th and 15th in the poll.
Be sure to follow @GLVCsports on Twitter and Instagram – hashtag #GLVCmsoc – and stay tuned for coverage throughout the season on
GLVCSN.com.
The complete poll follows below.
| 2017 GLVC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll |
| 1. Rockhurst |
196 (14) |
| 2. Indianapolis |
169 |
| 3. Southern Indiana |
153 |
| 4. Missouri S&T |
150 (1) |
| 5. Drury |
143 |
| 6. Quincy |
141 |
| 7. Missouri-St. Louis |
117 |
| 8. Maryville |
116 |
| 9. Bellarmine |
87 |
| 10. Illinois Springfield |
75 |
| 11. Lewis |
63 |
| 11. McKendree |
63 |
| 13. Truman State |
50 |
| 14. UW-Parkside* |
36 |
| 15. William Jewell |
16 |
*ineligible for regular season title and GLVC Tournament