Aug. 13, 2010

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV, under first-year head coach Rich Ryerson, was picked to finish seventh in the 2010 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's soccer preseason poll released on Friday, while New Mexico was the favorite to win the 2010 title.

New Mexico, coming off an at-large appearance in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, received four first place votes and 46 total, just three ahead of 2009 regular season and tournament champion Sacramento State, selected second with 43 points (three first place votes). Placing third was Denver with 31, while Cal State Bakersfield was fourth (30), San Jose State fifth (29), Seattle sixth (18), UNLV seventh (16) and Air Force rounded out the poll in eighth with 11.

This is the first year the league will be split into two divisions, with UNLV, New Mexico, Denver and Air Force competing in the Mountain Division, while Seattle, Cal State Bakersfield, San Jose State and Sacramento State will be in the Pacific division. The top two teams in each division will advance to the six-team postseason conference tournament, while the next two with the highest point totals will close out the tournament field.

The Rebels lost six starters from a year ago, but do bring back their top three scorers from 2009, including sophomore Nick Marshall, who led the team in scoring with 19 points (eight goals and three assists) while becoming the first Rebel to earn all-region honors as a freshman despite only starting three games on the season.

UNLV will open the regular season at home on Sept. 4, hosting Valparaiso in the UNLV Nike Invitational at 1 pm at Peter Johann Memorial Field.

2010 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll
Place    Team (1st place votes)  Votes1.  New Mexico (4)          462.  Sacramento State (3)        433.  Denver              314.  Cal State Bakersfield (1)       305.  San Jose State          296.  Seattle             187.  UNLV                168.  Air Force           11