Men's Soccer 11th in GNAC Pre-Season Poll

BOSTON, Mass. – Separated by just one point, the Albertus Magnus College men's soccer team edged out Lasell College to take the top spot in the 2013 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Pre-Season Poll. With five first place votes and 88 points the Falcons have been picked first after last season's GNAC championship while the Lasers finished with 87 points and three first place votes to come in a close second after capturing the 2012 GNAC regular season crown. Norwich University rounded out the top three right on their heels with 85 total points and two first place votes after advancing to last year's championship only to fall to Albertus in a PK shootout.

The Falcons will look to make it two in a row this season after posting a 15-4-3 overall mark a year ago. Albertus bids farewell to Stephen Zapata who was named an NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division III Second Team All-American as well as Nick Hamasian, the reigning GNAC Defensive Player of the Year. The Falcons will look to Stephen's younger brother Alex Zapata to pick up his scoring slack after an impressive rookie season in which he registered 20 points on nine goals and two assists en route to being named the GNAC Rookie of the Year. Also returning is First-Team All-Conference goalkeeper Donato Piroscafo who posted a 0.77 goals against average last year.

Lasell will look to avenge an early exit from last year's postseason, returning the reigning GNAC Player of the Year in Mike Skelton. Skelton posted a league-high 14 goals last year to lead the Lasers to a 15-4-1 mark. Much of the Lasers success a year ago could be attributed to the solid net play of Miguel Colmenares who as a rookie posted a 0.91 goals against average as well as an .820 save percentage.

The Norwich University Cadets were a goal away from capturing the GNAC title in 2012 but will be in the thick of things again this season as they return a strong core of veterans including defenders Ryan Campbell and Wesley Keslin who were both named NSCAA All-New England Region players each of the last two seasons. The goalkeeping duo of Greg Payne and Christian Hallstrom also anchors a strong defensive unit for the Cadets.

Saint Joseph's College (ME) recorded 68 points to finish fourth in the poll. The 2011 GNAC champs return their leading scorer in senior Zach Johnson and will look to return to the top of the league.

Johnson & Wales University rounded out the top half of the poll with 66 points.

Suffolk University and Emmanuel College ranked sixth and seventh in the poll with 48 and 39 points while Mount Ida College came in eighth with 37 points.

Anna Maria College finished with 17 points in ninth place while Rivier University closed out the poll in 10^th with 15 points.

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division III conference made up of 12 institutions with nine associate members. In 2013-14, the GNAC will sponsor championships in 17 sports for men and women. The GNAC also enjoys outstanding professional partnerships with Children's Hospital Sports Medicine Division, Doubletree Hotels, Fenway Printers, New Balance, Reading Trophy and Presto Sports.