Men's Soccer Picked to Finish Third in SAC
Mars Hill was picked to finish in third place in the SAC; Christian McArthur and Amine Merdjett were named to the preseason All-SAC team.
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Mars Hill men's soccer team has been picked to finish in third place in the South Atlantic Conference in a preseason poll of the league's coaches, conference officials announced on Tuesday. In addition, juniors Christian McArthur and Amine Merdjett were named preseason All-SAC selections.
The Lions earned 106 points, placing them behind second place Carson-Newman with 109 points and ahead of fourth place Tusculum, who earned 98 points and two first place votes. Defending champion Wingate claimed 10 first place votes and 131 points as the preseason favorite.
In 2014, Mars Hill finished in second place in the SAC with an 8-3 league record and a 9-7-1 overall mark. The Lions lost in a shootout in the semifinal round of the SAC Tournament.
McArthur was named to the first team after earning first team All-SAC and All-Tournament honors last season as a defender. Merdjett earned second team preseason honors after he scored four goals and had four assists a year ago.
Mars Hill begins the 2015 campaign next Thursday on the road against UNC Pembroke at 6 p.m.
2015 SAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
School (first-place votes) Total
1. Wingate (10) 131
2. Carson-Newman 109
3. Mars Hill 106
4. Tusculum (2) 98
5. Lincoln Memorial 94
6. Lenoir-Rhyne 87
7. Anderson 70
8. Queens 58
9. Coker 57
10. Catawba 50
11.Newberry 36
12. Brevard 23
2015 Preseason All-Conference Teams
First Team All-Conference
F – Charlie Machell, Wingate
F – Leonardo Da silva, Lincoln Memorial
F – Andre Carle, Anderson
F – Andreas Kvam, Tusculum
MF – Aksel Juul, Wingate
MF – Shaun Gadsby, Wingate
MF – David Fairgrieve, Wingate
MF – Marc-Kevin Schwenk, Queens
D – Alex Nelson, Wingate
D – James Scott, Wingate
D – Christian McArthur, Mars Hill
D – Guillermo Lazcano, Tusculum
GK – Jorge Alvarez, Tusculum
Second Team All-Conference
F – Marius Staalby, Carson-Newman
F – Jonathan Spicher, Tusculum
F – Connor Norton-Baker, Coker
F – Lucas Ferreira, Newberry
MF – Amine Merdjett, Mars Hill
MF – Rurik Pereira, Carson-Newman
MF – Leon Mueller Wiesen, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Sindre Welo, Carson-Newman
D – James Ward, Carson-Newman
D – Nathaniel Johnson, Lincoln Memorial
D – Ricardo Da silva, Tusculum
D – Phillip Hollenhorst, Catawba
GK – Kyndle Cobb, Coker
