Courtesy of QU Athletics

by Connor Fortier

On Thursday morning, the men’s soccer MAAC preseason coach’s poll was released. This years poll has the defending conference champion Quinnipiac Bobcats ranked second, behind only last years co-regular season champions Monmouth.

The Bobcats earned 101 points in the poll and two first place votes as well. Monmouth came in with 112 points and five first place votes.  “We are excited to start a new season in the MAAC and look forward to another very competitive season. Preseason polls are indicative of the past year’s success but we recognize each season brings new challenges,” said head coach Eric Da Costa. The Bobcats finished last year with a 7-1-2 record in the MAAC and only finished ahead of Iona by one point to share the regular season championship with Monmouth. “The MAAC was very competitive in 2013 and I fully expect each game to again be a challenging test for us. There are several programs that will make a run at the title and we hope to be among them” said Da Costa.

Courtesy of MAACSports.com

With the Bobcats earning the MAAC title last year and being co-champions of the regular season some might question why they only earned the number two ranking.

The answer here is simple. The team has lost their leading scorer and one of their captains, Simon Hinde. Hinde scored 10 goals and had one assist last year, which led up to his 21-point season. This is a team that ranked sixth in the MAAC last year in goals and that was with Hinde. With him gone, the Bobcats will look to senior striker Machel Baker. Baker last year missed three games last year and tallied four goals and two assists for a 10-point season. But, there is a ton of potential for Baker this year, as he was selected to the All-MAAC Preseason team, so all hope is not lost for the offense of the Bobcats.

Even though with the loss of their top scorer the Bobcats still have a solid chance of repeating this year with what they did last year solely because of their defense.

They were one of the league best defenses last year, ranking second in goals allowed, and they are returning all of their back line including All-MAAC Preseason team selection Tobi Esche. Also returning for the Bobcats is star goaltender Borja Angoitia, who rounds out the selections from the Bobcats for the All-MAAC Preseason team. The Bobcats earning of the number two ranking most likely stems from them having this experienced defense and it definitely played a huge part in them earning those two first place votes.

Although they are the defending conference championships, it is clear to see why the Bobcats earned the number two preseason ranking and that is because of the loss of offensive production. However, the Bobcats have extremely smart coaching and a stout defense on their side. The defense, especially, has successfully shut-down many of the MAAC’s top players before, so do not be surprised if they make a run and climb atop of the conference standings once again this year.

The Bobcats open up their season on Aug. 29 against Northwestern University.

Follow Q30 Sports on Twitter