SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Oral Roberts men's soccer team was picked second in the Summit League men's soccer preseason coaches' poll, which is voted on by the league's six head coaches, with 22 overall votes and two first place votes, it was announced Tuesday.

The Golden Eagles, who have won two straight regular season titles, including an outright crown in 2022, tallied the remaining two first-place votes and finished with 22 points, two votes shy of league favorite Denver. ORU finished a point ahead of the Pioneers in the regular season standings a season ago, finishing 7-1 with 21 points, while DU went 6-0-2 and totaled 20 points.

DU, who climbed as high as No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches Division I rankings a season ago, won its fourth consecutive Summit League Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament opening-round game for the second straight season in 2022. The Pioneers received votes in the 2023 United Soccer Coaches' preseason top 25 poll.

Omaha finished third in the regular season standings under the direction of first-year head coach Donovan Dowling and that is where the Mavericks were tabbed again in the preseason poll. Omaha went 5-2-1 in league play a season ago and tallied 17 points in the poll.

Kansas City was picked fourth for the second straight year, earning 13 points in the poll. The Roos reached the Summit League Tournament title game as the No. 4 seed after knocking off top-seeded ORU 3-2 in extra time.

St. Thomas earned the fifth spot with eight points, while affiliate member Western Illinois rounded out the poll in sixth after collecting six points. This will be the final season for the Leathernecks' men's soccer program in the Summit League.
 

2023 Summit League Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank	School	Points (1st)	2022 Record (SL)
1.	Denver	24 (4)	14-3-5 (6-0-2, 20 pts)
2.	Oral Roberts	22 (2)	11-4-2 (7-1-1, 21 pts)
3.	Omaha	17	8-6-2 (5-2-1, 16 pts)
4.	Kansas City	13	7-5-5 (4-1-3, 15 pts)
5.	St. Thomas	8	3-12-2 (2-5-1, 7 pts)
6.	Western Illinois	6	2-8-7 (2-3-3, 9 pts)

#SummitMSOC Preseason Notes

• Three of the Summit League's six individual award honorees are back for the 2023 regular season with Denver bringing back Midfielder of the Year Ben Smith and Newcomer of the Year Isaac Nehme, while Oral Roberts will be led by Ryan Bush, who has garnered three of the last four Coach of the Year honors (2019, 2021 and 2022).
• Smith and Nehme helped the Pioneers' defense record a NCAA-leading 13 shutouts and a 0.68 goals against average, which ranked seventh nationally, in 2022.
• Nehme recorded 10 of those shutouts between the pipes and combined for two more during his freshman season. His 10 individual shutouts were tied for the fifth most in a single season in league history.
• Denver has won nine of the past 10 Summit League Tournaments, including the 2022 version that the program hosted. The Pioneers posted shutout victories over Omaha and Kansas City en route to the title.
• DU went on to win its NCAA Tournament first round game at home against San Diego, 1-0, before falling to Duke during second round play. It marked the second straight year the Pioneers won an NCAA postseason match.
• Denver midfielder Sam Bassett is the league's top-returning goal scorer after netting seven in 2022. DU teammate Holger Olsson also returns and was among a pack of five players from around the league to score six goals in 2022.
• Olson, Omaha forward Mathis Pilon St-Louis and Oral Roberts midfielder Shane Anderson also return from that quintet of six-goal scorers.
• Anderson is the league's top returning point scorer after he added a league-best nine assists to go with his six goals in 2022.
• Anderson spearheaded an ORU offense that was the only one in the league to put more than two goals per match, averaging a league-high 2.6 in 16 contests.
• The Golden Eagles will have to replace Goalkeeper of the Year Jeremy Coste, who helped anchor an ORU defense that yielded only 18 goals a season ago (1.13/g).
• Pilon St-Louis was the top goal scorer for an Omaha squad that was under the direction of first-year head coach Donovan Dowling in 2022. The Mavericks finished 5-2-1 in league play.
• Kansas City's Christian Koffi was one of the more dynamic newcomers in the league in 2022 as he led all players with 64 total shots with 28 of those being on frame. He put away five of them and also added five assists to share the team lead in points with the now graduated Kazuki Kimura.
• St. Thomas enters its third year as a Summit League member and accrued a pair of conference wins in each of its first two seasons. Senior goalkeeper Tucker Mann returns for the Tommies and had one of the best individual performances of the 2022 season when he made a career-high 12 saves in a 0-0 draw with Denver.
• Western Illinois will embark on one final Summit League men's soccer campaign in 2023. The Leathernecks will move to the Ohio Valley Conference next season, but will be under the direction of the league's all-time winningness coach in Dr. Eric Johnson. Johnson has won 185 matches since 1997 with 77 of those coming in league play.

#SummitMSOC Schedule Notes

• The 2023 season officially begins Thursday, Aug. 24 with all five of the league's six teams in action. Preseason favorite Denver is the only one of that quintet to open at home as San Diego State visits the Mile High City.
• Reigning regular season champion Oral Roberts opens the next day with a Aug. 25 match at UC Santa Barbara.
• All six teams will open Summit League play on Saturday, Sept. 24. Denver opens at St. Thomas, Oral Roberts visits Western Illinois and Omaha travels to Kansas City.
• The 2023 schedule format will see all six teams face off against each other in home-and-away matchups throughout the campaign.
• The top four regular-season finishers will qualify for The Summit League Men's Soccer Championship that will be held in Tulsa, Okla., Nov. 9 and 11. This will be the first time since 2001 that the Golden Eagles have hosted the league's postseason tournament.

Players to Watch
Sam Bassett | Denver | Junior | Midfielder
• Named to the 2022 Summit League All-Second Team and United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Third Team
• Started all 22 matches, leading Pioneers in goals (7), assists (6) and points (20).

Ben Smith | Denver | Senior | Midfielder
• Inaugural recipient of the Summit League Midfielder of the Year award that debuted in 2022
• Named to the 2022 Summit League All-First Team and United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Second Team
• Team captain started 21 games scoring two goals, including game-winner at Omaha

Reed Berry | Oral Roberts | Graduate | Forward
• Four-time All-Summit League First Team honoree and United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Team honoree
• Named to the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Third Team in 2022 after scoring four goals and adding six assists
• Tallied seven career game-winning goals for the Golden Eagles

Schinieder Mimy | Oral Roberts | Senior | Defender
• Named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team and earned All-Summit League honorable mention honors
• Started 13 of 14 matches he appeared in, tallying a goal and six assists, while helping ORU's defense register six shutouts, including four in league play

Gonzalo Cuevas | Omaha | Senior | Defender
• Named to the All-Summit League First Team and All-Newcomer Team
• Earned a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Third Team
• Started 15 matches on Omaha's back line, helping the Mavericks post five shutouts

Kyle Reese | Omaha | Senior | Defender
• Earned All-Summit League honorable mention honors after first season with Mavericks
• Started 14 matches on Omaha's back line, helping the Mavericks hold opponents to a 1.44 goals against average

Stefano Camerlengo | Kansas City | Senior | Goalkeeper
• Did not appear in any matches for the Roos in 2022 after earning back-to-back NAIA First Team All-America honors at Central Methodist in 2020 and 2021
• Two-time Heart of America First Team All-Conference honoree
• Combined for 25 shutouts in two years at Central Methodist

Seth Kacich | Kansas City | Graduate | Defender
• Has 39 starts for the Roos to his credit and has appeared in 49 career matches
• Earned both weekly Offensive and Defensive Peak Performer of the Week honors during career
• Three-time Academic All-Summit League honoree

Oliver Bieleveldt | St. Thomas | Sophomore | Forward
• Named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team
• Started all 16 matches for the Tommies, scoring a goal in two of his first three collegiate matches

Wes Lorrens | St. Thomas | Graduate | Defender
• Played in 16 matches, starting 11 for the Tommies in 2022
• Helped anchor back line in a pair of shutout victories over league foes last season

Kyle Owen | Western Illinois | Graduate | Defender
• Earned All-Summit League honorable mention accolades in 2022 and was an All-League Second Team performer in 2020
• Started 59 consecutive matches for the Leathernecks over the past four seasons

Caleb Ragland | Western Illinois | Graduate | Midfielder
• Made 11 starts and appeared in 13 matches for the Leathernecks in 2022
• Started 40 matches in four seasons at WIU

Note: Players to Watch nominated by league's head coaches

For the latest information on ORU men's soccer, follow @ORUAthletics on Twitter or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics app in the Google Play or App Store.