Aug. 12, 2008

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Lewis University has been selected to finish second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference according to the 2008 Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the conference office. Northern Kentucky, whom Lewis defeated in the conference championship, has been selected as the favorite.

Lewis collected the most first-place votes in the annual poll with six, but finished second in the voting with 130 total points. The Flyers have won eight league titles, including their second in the past five years last season. Lewis finished 2007 with a 17-5 overall record and 9-4 mark in league play.

Northern Kentucky ran the course of the conference season with a 13-0 mark before falling in the GLVC Tournament final to Lewis, 1-0.

The Flyers return four All-GLVC performers in junior Nestor Hernandez, senior Cory Mastey, senior Anthony Szymel and sophomore Mardoche Beya. Hernandez went on to earn National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II All-America third team honors. Szymel was also named the Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region second team goalkeeper. Mastey led the Flyers in scoring for the second consecutive year with 13 goals and 29 points. As a freshman, Beya tied for second on the team in assists (3) and was fifth in goals (5).

The top eight teams in the league standings will advance to the 2008 GLVC Tournament which is scheduled to begin on Nov. 2. The highest remaining seed following the quarterfinal round will host the GLVC semifinals and final on Nov. 7 and 9, respectively.

The complete 2008 GLVC Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Poll follows:

Team (First-place votes) Total Points
1. Northern Kentucky (4) 132
2. Lewis (6) 130
3. Rockhurst (2) 123
4. Indianapolis 98
5. UW-Parkside (1) 92
6. Quincy 91
7. Drury 87
8. Bellarmine 85
9. Missouri S&T 53
10. Missouri-St. Louis 50
11. Southern Indiana 34
12. Saint Joseph's 26
13. Kentucky Wesleyan 13