SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The USF men's soccer team was voted to win the conference in the 2015 West Coast Conference Preseason Poll, released on Tuesday. The Dons tallied a league-best 39 points with a pair of first-place votes to land in the top spot.

If the preseason poll is any indication, this year's conference race could be a tightly contested affair as five different teams garnered first-place votes. Saint Mary's was picked to finish second, bringing in 37 points and one first-place vote. San Diego, last year's conference champion, was voted third (36 points) after taking two first-place votes of their own.

Loyola Marymount came in fourth (35 points) with two first-place votes, followed by Santa Clara (32 points) with one first-place vote.

Rounding out the poll were Gonzaga (21 points), Portland (15 points), and Pacific (9 points).   

The preseason poll was voted on by the conference's eight head coaches.

The Dons finished the 2014 campaign with an 11-6-2 (5-2-0) record in head coach Eddie Soto's first season on the Hilltop. Soto's squad may be one of the youngest in the WCC this year as the Dons welcome back seven returning starters, six of whom who were All-WCC performers, on a roster that features just three seniors. Soto also brought in a class of 13 newcomers that was ranked as the 41st best recruiting class in the nation, according to College Soccer News.   

USF has exhibitions lined up against San Francisco State at Negoesco Stadium on Aug. 19 and at UCLA on Aug. 22 before opening the regular season at No. 23 Penn State on Aug. 28.  


2015 WEST COAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL

2015 PRESEASON ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE TEAM