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Panthers Slotted For Fifth In Preseason Horizon League Poll

Team opens exhibition slate today at Bradley

Aug. 18, 2008

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team has been picked by league coaches to place fifth in the upcoming Horizon League regular season, according to the results of the preseason poll announced today by the league office.

"From our perspective, it is definitely incentive," UWM head coach Jon Coleman said. "We need to go out every day and prove we are one of the top teams in this league. To be honest, we are looking forward to the challenge. We will prepare and be ready for league play and the chance to move up the standings. At the end of the day, it's just a preseason poll ... the only thing that will matter is where everyone is at in the first week of November."

Milwaukee has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in five of the past seven seasons, reaching the second round in the last four tournaments it has appeared in (2002-05). It has compiled a regular season league record of 39-7-4 in that time.

UIC, which advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season and is ranked as high as No. 16 in the national preseason polls, took the top spot for the second-straight year with 64 points and eight first place votes. Green Bay landed in second, compiling 52 points to edge out Loyola, which had 51.

Butler (43) came in just ahead of UWM (39), with Valparaiso (26), Wright State (20), Detroit (16) and Cleveland State (13) rounding out the poll.

Milwaukee has won four of the past six Horizon League Tournament championships and the regular season crown four times in the past seven seasons. This marks just the third time in the past six years that the Panthers were not chosen as the favorite. In 2007, they were tabbed for a third place finish and ended up as the second-place squad.

2008 Horizon League Preseason Men's Soccer Poll
1. UIC (8 first place votes) - 64 pts.
2. Green Bay (1) - 52
3. Loyola - 51
4. Butler - 43
5. Milwaukee - 39
6. Valparaiso - 26
7. Wright State - 20
8. Detroit - 16
9. Cleveland State - 13