PORTLAND, Ore. – Seattle Pacific may have won the conference championship last year, but coaches expect Simon Fraser to return to the top spot this season.
 
Simon Fraser is the pick to win it all in the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches Poll. The team received five of seven first-place votes and amassed a total of 47 points.
 
Western Washington, which finished a close third last year, is picked second with 40 points while the Falcons, who won their first GNAC championship since 2015, is picked third with 37 points. Both the Vikings and Falcons received one first-place vote.
 
Northwest Nazarene is slotted fourth with 29 points, followed by Saint Martin's (17 pts.) and Montana State Billings (15 pts.). Western Oregon, competing in its first year of men's soccer, is picked seventh with 11 points.
 
The 2021 season proved a close one with the top three teams separated by a total of four points. All three teams were in contention for the conference title until the last day of the season, with Seattle Pacific securing the title thanks to Simon Fraser's 2-1 overtime win over Western Washington to close the conference slate.
 
Simon Fraser used a late October run to make its charge at the title, winning four straight at one point and closed the year by winning five of its final seven matches. The team won with defence, allowing just 20 goals all season, but scored just 17 of its own. The goalkeepers amassed a 1.23 goals against average and led the conference with seven shutouts as SFU finished 9-7-0 overall and 6-4-0 in conference play (18 pts.)
 
Simon Fraser, which last won the championship in 2018, returns 17 overall players and seven starters. Senior midfielder Conrad Cheng earned Second Team D2CCA All-West Region and First Team All-GNAC honors while being named the conference's Newcomer of the Year. In 14 matches, Cheng finished with three goals, including one game-winner. Junior midfielder Mark Talisuna also earned Second Team D2CCA All-West Region and First Team All-GNAC accolades. Simon Fraser also returns a Second Team All-GNAC pick in junior midfielder Ali Zohar and an honorable mention pick in senior defender Tyler Dhillon.

READ THE FULL GNAC NEWS ARTICLE HERE
 
The team will begin its 2022 NCAA regular season on Saturday, Aug. 27, with an SFU Showdown tournament game against preseason No. 1 ranked California State Los Angeles.
 
For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.
 
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2022 GNAC PRESEASON MEN'S SOCCER COACHES POLL 

RANK	TEAM (1st Place Votes)	2021 RECORD	GNAC RECORD (Finish)	PTS.
1.	Simon Fraser (5)	9-7-0	6-4-0 (18 pts., 2nd)	47
2.	Western Washington (1)	7-8-2	5-3-2, 17 pts. (3rd)	40
3.	Seattle Pacific (1)	12-4-2	6-2-2, 20 pts. (1st)	37
4.	Northwest Nazarene	8-8-0	5-5-0, 15 pts. (4th)	29
5.	Saint Martin's	4-13-0	3-7-0, 9 pts. (5th)	17
6.	Montana State Billings	4-9-3	2-6-2, 8 pts. (6th)	15
7.	Western Oregon	N/A	First Season	11

Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.