COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced the results of the 2024 RMAC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll Thursday, with Colorado State University Pueblo standing atop with 97 total points and eight first-place votes. The preseason poll is voted on by the league’s 15 head coaches- coaches are not permitted to vote for their own team.
Despite claiming the conference tournament title in 2023, the ThunderWolves enter the season with a chip on their shoulder. As the National Runner-Up, head coach Oliver Twelvetrees’s squad has unfinished business entering the 2024 season. The Pack returns all three goalkeepers from last season, a trio that accumulated 49 saves and 15 total shutouts in 2023. The offense will reload its weapons this season, following a top 20 unit in Division II last season that tallied 46 goals. The Pack recently were named the number two team in the United Soccer Coaches’ (USC) Preseason Poll, checking in behind the defending Division II champions, Franklin Pierce.
Fort Lewis captures the remaining three first-place votes, as the Skyhawks earned 91 total points after their second NCAA tournament appearance in 12 years. The defending RMAC regular season kings also recently gained national recognition, sitting at No. 21 in the USC Preseason Poll. Leading scorers Anton Hjalmarsson and Gabriel Legendre are ready to lead the offensive attack again after combining for 22 goals in 2023. Hjalmarsson looks to build off his stellar debut season for Fort Lewis, in which he claimed the conference’s Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors.
Colorado Mesa sits in third place, after receiving 75 total points. The Mavericks finished with a 10-4-5 record in 2023, just ahead of the ThunderWolves in the conference standings. CMU is primed for a strong campaign and seeks its first NCAA tournament berth since 2021.
With 72 points, University of Colorado Colorado Springs occupies fourth place. Rounding out the top five of the poll is Colorado School of Mines, earning 63 total points.
Westminster resides in sixth place with 58 points, followed by Regis and Metropolitan State University of Denver who each gained 46 points and tied for seventh place.
Colorado Christian (28 points), South Dakota Mines (15 points) and Adams State (14 points) round out the final spots of the 2024 poll.
Action on the pitch gets underway on Thursday, Sept. 5, as five conference members start their regular season. RMAC play begins in October and will conclude with the 2024 RMAC Men’s Soccer Tournament from Sunday, Nov. 10 to Sunday, Nov. 17.
All matches hosted by RMAC institutions throughout the season can be viewed live on the
RMAC Network.