Fayette, Iowa- Upper Iowa Men's Soccer was voted 14th in Tuesday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Preseason Poll. UIU finished 20 points ahead of Southwest Baptist (Mo.) with 38 points.
The Peacocks return several key players from last year's team. On the offensive side forwards Alejandro Sanchez and Julian Mesen. On defense defender Dexter Garrett and goal keeper JJ Gonzalez-Hayes. Garrett led the team in minutes (1,393 min.), Sanchez had third-most (1,325 min.) and Gonzalez-Hayes fifth-most (997). Sanchez tied the team-high in assists (four). Mesen tied Daniel Pranger for the team lead with most goals scored (three) last season. Gonzalez-Hayes had a total of 53 saves last season and a game-high in saves (11) against Lincoln (Mo).
Lewis (Ill.) topped the poll in first place with a total of 186 points and seven first place votes, followed by McKendree (Ill.) with 184 points and six first place votes. Maryville (Mo.) in third and Indianapolis (Ind.) in fourth also received a first-place vote.
The preseason poll is selected by the league's head coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own team.
The 2025 GLVC Tournament will take place from Nov. 9-16. The top eight teams in the conference will play in a single-elimination tournament with the top four seeds hosting first-round games on Nov. 9. The semifinals will take place Nov. 13-16 at Creve Coeur Park in St. Louis, Missouri.
Upper Iowa will take on St. Cloud State (Minn.) at Harms-Eischied Stadium on Thursday Sept. 4th, at 5 p.m.
