Upper Iowa men's soccer has been selected to finish ninth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Lewis leads all teams with 185 points, after accumulating five first place votes. Reigning GLVC Tournament Champions, Indianapolis, received 181 points and a conference high six first place votes to finish second. Maryville rounds out the top three with 165 points, including two first place votes. McKendree placed fourth with 163 points, and reigning GLVC Tournament Runners-Up Illinois Springfield accumulated 137 points and the final two first place votes.
The Peacocks garnered 99 points, which puts them one spot below eighth-ranked Truman State at 107 points and one spot above tenth-ranked Missouri-St. Louis with 72 points.
Head Coach,
Jason Carlson returns for his seventh overall, and third consecutive season with the Peacocks. Upper Iowa posted a 7-7-3 record in 2023 highlighted by a 2-0 win over Indianapolis, handing them their only loss of the regular season. Upper Iowa returns both of their All-Conference honorees in First Teamer
Mateo Rodriguez and Second Teamer
Daigo Adachi. Rodriguez scored a team-high six goals and added six assists while Adachi recorded a team-high eight assists and added two goals. The defensive line is also highlighted by the returns of centerbacks,
Florian Deick and team captain,
Dexter Garrett. Both players scored two goals on the season while Garrett led all players with 1,395 minutes, followed by Deick at 1,327. On the offensive end,
Thomas Walle and
Preston Price are back with UIU, following a season where both players scored four goals.
Other notable returners include:
2024 GLVC MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
| Place |
School |
Points (1st-Place Votes) |
| 1 |
Lewis |
185 (5) |
| 2 |
Indianapolis |
181 (6) |
| 3 |
Maryville |
165 (2) |
| 4 |
McKendree |
163 |
| 5 |
Illinois Springfield |
137 (2) |
| 6 |
Rockhurst |
125 |
| 7 |
Drury |
115 |
| 8 |
Truman State |
107 |
| 9 |
Upper Iowa |
99 |
| 10 |
Missouri-St. Louis |
72 |
| 11 |
Missouri S&T |
70 |
| 12 |
Quincy |
61 |
| 13 |
Lincoln |
36 |
| 14 |
William Jewell |
34 |
| 15 |
Southwest Baptist |
25 |
