Bowling Green State University Athletics
Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications
Falcons Picked to Tie for Fourth in MAC
August 15, 2017 | Men's Soccer
Conference office releases preseason coaches poll
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team has been picked to tie for fourth in the Mid-American Conference race in 2017. The preseason poll, the result of voting by the conference's six head coaches, was released by the league office on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 15).
LINKS
Scrimmage No. 1 Recap: BGSU-Dayton
Scrimmage No. 2 Recap: BGSU-Oakland
MAC Office Announces Preseason Poll
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Schedule
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Roster
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
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Akron was picked to capture the 2017Â MAC regular-season title. The Zips received five of the six first-place votes and 35Â total points. UA also was the preseason pick to win the MAC Tournament.LINKS
Scrimmage No. 1 Recap: BGSU-Dayton
Scrimmage No. 2 Recap: BGSU-Oakland
MAC Office Announces Preseason Poll
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Schedule
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Roster
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
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Only one point separated the teams picked to finish between second and fifth in the conference race. West Virginia and league newcomer SIUE each received 21 points, with one league coach picking the Mountaineers to win the regular-season title. BGSU and Western Michigan each garnered 20 points in the poll, while Northern Illinois received nine points.
Last season, the Falcons were picked to place fifth in the MAC preseason poll, but wound up finishing second in the final 2016 league standings.
Head coach Eric Nichols and his staff welcome back 13 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's club. The Falcons have won a total of 32 matches over the last three years.
Nichols and the Falcons had an overall record of 9-6-4 in 2016, and BGSU finished MAC regular-season play with a 2-0-3 league ledger. BG's second-place conference finish was the program's best showing since the 2002 season, and the Falcons were undefeated at Cochrane Stadium for the first time since 1996.
BGSU, after playing two home exhibitions in a three-day span, will wrap up the preseason schedule with a Friday (Aug. 18) scrimmage at Valparaiso. Then, eight days later (Aug. 26), the Falcons begin regular-season play by taking on IUPUI at Cochrane.
BG's regular-season schedule also includes matchups with Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, SIUE and UA. The complete and most up-to-date 2017 schedule can be found by clicking the link near the top of this page.
For more information on the men's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUmenssoccer, Instagram (bgsumenssoccer) and Snapchat (BGSU Men's Soccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
2017 MAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
  Team (FPV) .......... Points
1. Akron (5) ............. 35
2. West Virginia (1) ..... 21
  SIUE .................. 21
4. Bowling Green ......... 20
  Western Michigan ...... 20
6. Northern Illinois ..... Â 9
Predicted MAC Tournament Champion
Akron
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