Falcons Picked to Finish Fifth in MAC

The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team has been picked to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference race in 2018. The preseason poll, the result of voting by the conference's six head coaches, was released by the league office on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 21).

BGSU MEN'S SOCCER LINKS
MAC Office Release: MAC Office Announces Preseason Poll
2018 Men's Soccer... Schedule | Roster | Media Guide/Record Book
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Akron was picked to capture the 2018 MAC regular-season title. The Zips received five of the six first-place votes and 35 total points. UA also was the preseason pick to win the MAC Tournament, garnering all six votes.

Western Michigan was picked to finish second in the regular-season race. The Broncos, who like Akron advanced to the NCAA Championships last year, received 26 points and one first-place vote. West Virginia received 24 points, followed by SIUE (18), BGSU (15) and Northern Illinois (8).

Head coach Eric Nichols and his staff welcome back 13 letterwinners, including eight starters, from last year's team. BGSU finished the 2017 season with an overall record of 7-9-1. Five of the team's setbacks came by one goal on the road to nationally-ranked opponents.

BGSU opens the regular season on Saturday night (Aug. 25), when Northern Kentucky comes to Cochrane for a 7:00 p.m. start. The Falcons' home schedule also includes Wright State (Aug. 31), Michigan State (Sept. 7) and Valparaiso (Sept. 29) out of conference, and Akron (Oct. 6), Western Michigan (Oct. 20) and SIUE (Nov. 3) in league play.

The road schedule includes trips to face Big Ten Conference foes Penn State (Aug. 28) and Ohio State (Sept. 11), and the non-league slate also includes road matches vs. Western Illinois (Sept. 2), Wofford (Sept. 15), Cleveland State (Sept. 18), Purdue Fort Wayne (Sept. 22), IUPUI (Oct. 9) and Cincinnati (Oct. 23). In MAC action, BGSU will head to Northern Illinois (Oct. 13) and West Virginia (Oct. 26). The complete and most up-to-date 2018 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 Facebook (B GMensSoccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.

2018 MAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team (FPV) Pts.
1. Akron (5) .............. 35
2. Western Michigan (1) ... 26
3. West Virginia .......... 24
4. SIUE ................... 18
5. Bowling Green .......... 15
6. Northern Illinois ...... 8

Predicted MAC Tournament Champion
Akron (6)

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Falcons Picked to Finish Fifth in MAC

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