| 8/17/2005 3:58:09 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – Ithaca College and defending champion Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) finished tied atop the Empire 8 Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll. The Bombers received four first-place votes, while the Tigers received three first-place votes. Ithaca also received two second-place votes and a third-place vote, while RIT was picked to finish first or second on every ballot.
The Tigers finished fourth in the regular season last year, but posted back-to-back 1-0 wins over top-seeded Ithaca and second-seeded St. John Fisher College to take the conference title and earn an automatic bid to the NCA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship.
The Cardinals are picked to finish third with 2003 co-champion Alfred University selected to finish in fourth place this season. The other 2003 co-champion, Nazareth College, is the coaches’ pick to place fifth. Utica College and Elmira College were picked to finish sixth and seventh, respectively.
In addition to RIT making the NCAA tournament, St. John Fisher and Alfred each received bids to the ECAC Upstate Championship. The Cardinals and Saxons played to a scoreless tie with St. John Fisher earning a spot in the semifinals by virtue of penalty kicks. Ithaca, which finished undefeated in regular season conference play a year ago, finished as the top-ranked team in the Northeast Region.
The fourth seed in each of the past two seasons has earned at least a share of the Empire 8 title. Last year, the fourth-seeded Tigers posted a 1-0 win in its final regular season game to even qualify for the conference tournament. In 2003, fourth-seeded Alfred and third-seeded Nazareth advanced to the conference title game and played to a tie with the Saxons earning the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in penalty kicks.
2005 Empire 8 Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Ithaca College (4 first-place votes) 33 points
RIT (3) 33
3. St. John Fisher College 25
4. Alfred University 23
5. Nazareth College 17
6. Utica College 10
7. Elmira College 7
