ROCK HILL — The Newberry College men’s soccer team has been predicted to finish in 11th place in the South Atlantic Conference in 2015.
Wingate was picked as the number one team with 131 points, followed by Carson-Newman with 109 points. Mars Hill took the third spot with 106 points, Tusculum in fourth with 98 points and Lincoln Memorial in close fifth with 94 points.
Lenoir-Rhyne, Anderson, Queens and Coker fill the six through nine spot in the polls, respectively. Catawba came in at No. 10 with 50 points, as Newberry (36 points) and Brevard (23 points) rounded out the poll.
Lucas Ferreira started 14 games for the Wolves last year, leading the team in scoring with seven goals on 54 shots also tagging three assists. Ferreira had two game-winning goals also netted two penalty shots on two attempts. Ferreira’s best game in the year came against Chowan, netting two goals and a penalty kick which led the Wolves to a 4-1 victory on October 14.
The Wolves are led by fifth-year head coach Barry Slagle. Last season the team finished 6-10-2 overall and 3-6-2 in the SAC.
“I’m excited that the preseason poll is out because it means that the season is about to get underway,” Slagle said. “I was happy to see that Lucas was represented on the list. Lucas is deserving and he is hungry to finish out his career on a high note, personally and with the team. The boys have a lot to play for this year and are eager to make a statement.”
Newberry opens the season on Sept. 3 at Pfeiffer in Misenheimer, N.C. The home opener is Sept. 16, against conference rival Catawba.