Rio Grande tabbed #RSCSOCCER Men's Preseason Poll favorite for 2018
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- University of Rio Grande (Ohio) is predicted as the top team in the 2018 River States Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll. The RedStorm came out on top in the voting of the league's head coaches. Rio Grande received every possible first-place vote as the clear favorite this year.
Rio Grande, which debuted at No. 16 in the NAIA Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll last week, had a record of 14-2-2 overall, 8-0-1 RSC last season. The RedStorm once again made the NAIA national tournament, won the RSC regular-season championship and reached the conference tournament semifinals.
WVU Tech, the 2017 RSC Tournament champion, came in second in the preseason poll and was the only school besides Rio Grande to receive a first-place vote. The Golden Bears were 8-10-4 overall, 6-2-1 RSC last year and won the conference tournament advancing on PKs in the semifinals and finals.
The next four teams in the poll are separated by just three votes. Point Park (Pa.) University placed third in the poll after a season of 11-6 overall, 6-3 RSC last year and garnered 49 votes in the poll. Asbury (Ky.) University came in fourth with 48 votes and is coming of a record of 11-6-1, 6-2-1 RSC and a conference semifinals berth in 2017.
Next up are Midway (Ky.) University and IU East tied for fifth with 46 votes each. Midway reached the RSC finals last year with a final record of 10-5-2, 6-2-1 RSC. IU East was 9-9-2 overall in its first year of soccer and won a playoff game to make the conference semifinals.
Brescia (Ky.) University placed seventh with 26 votes, and Cincinnati Christian University was next in eighth with 24 votes. Ohio Christian University (19) and Carlow (Pa.) University (11) finished out the 10 teams.
Follow River States Conference Men's Soccer all season long at RiverStatesConference.com, on Twitter @RiverStatesConf and @RSCScores hashtag #RSCSOCCER and on Facebook.com/RiverStatesConference.
2018 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES' POLL (Aug. 21)
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. Rio Grande (Ohio) (8) | 72 |
| 2. WVU Tech (1) | 64 |
| 3. Point Park (Pa.) | 49 |
| 4. Asbury (Ky.) | 48 |
| T-5. Midway (Ky.) | 46 |
| T-5. IU East | 46 |
| 7. Brescia (Ky.) | 26 |
| 8. Cincinnati Christian | 24 |
| 9. Ohio Christian | 19 |
| 10. Carlow (Pa.) | 11 |