CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Results of the 2023 American Rivers Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Poll (as voted on by the league's head coaches):
| 2023 American Rivers Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
School (1st place votes) |
Points |
2022 Record |
| 1. |
Loras (5) |
59 |
10-6-2, 5-1-2 A-R-C (Conference Champions) |
| 2. |
Luther (3) |
55 |
12-4-5, 4-0-4 A-R-C (Tournament Champions) |
| 3. |
Wartburg |
46 |
7-2-9, 3-0-5 A-R-C |
| t-4. |
Nebraska Wesleyan (1) |
40 |
7-8-3, 4-2-2 A-R-C |
| t-4. |
Simpson |
40 |
12-4-3, 4-1-3 A-R-C |
| 6. |
Dubuque |
34 |
8-7-4, 3-2-3 A-R-C |
| 7. |
Central |
25 |
3-11-2, 2-5-1 A-R-C |
| 8. |
Coe |
16 |
2-14-1, 1-7 A-R-C |
| 9. |
Buena Vista |
9 |
0-15-2, 0-8 A-R-C |
Loras College Men's Soccer, who finished the 2022 season as conference champions, are the coaches' choice to win the 2023 American Rivers Conference Championship. The Duhawks were chosen first on five ballots (coaches do not vote on their own team) and earned 59 points. Luther College, champions of the conference tournament a year ago, earned the No. 2 ranking. The Norse garnered 55 points, behind three first-place votes.
Wartburg College was picked to finish third, earning 46 points. Nebraska Wesleyan University and Simpson College finished the preseason voting tied for fourth with 40 points. The Prairie Wolves picked up the top spot on one ballot. The University of Dubuque earned 34 points to finish sixth in this year's poll. Central College followed in seventh with 25 points. Coe College (16 points) and Buena Vista University (9 points) finished in eighth and ninth.
United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll/D3soccer.com: At this time, no rankings have been dropped by D3soccer.com and none were ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Division III Preseason Poll.
New Coaches:
- Kelsey Resnick, Buena Vista University -- Resnick took over as head coach for the men's soccer program in December of 2022 after having served as an assistant coach with the Beavers starting in 2021. Resnick joined BVU from the semi-pro side, Portland City Futsal Club, where he served as head coach. Prior to his stint in Portland, Resnick spent five seasons as an assistant coach for the men's and women's teams at Hiram College. Resnick earned his bachelor's degree from Hiram College and his law degree from the University of Akron.
- Sam Koenig, Loras College -- Koenig, an alumni of Loras, was named the next head men's soccer coach for the Duhawks in February of 2023. Koenig previously served as the Director of Soccer at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he oversaw both the men's and women's soccer teams. While a member of the Loras men's soccer team as a student-athlete, Koenig was a two-time captain and made deep runs in the national tournament, reaching the Final Four in 2012 and 2013 before advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2014.
The Schedule: Seven of the nine league institutions kick off the 2023 season on Friday, September 1st. Buena Vista will play host to Bethany Lutheran College out of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) and Coe will travel to Grinnell College from the Midwest Conference. The Loras Duhawks will host Monmouth College while the Luther Norse will host Cornell College, both hailing from the Midwest Conference. Nebraska Wesleyan will travel out to Colorado Springs, Colorado to take on Lake Forest College out of the Midwest Conference. Simpson will host Augustana College (Ill.) out of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) and Wartburg is set to host Milwaukee School of Engineering out of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC). Central and Dubuque will begin their 2023 season on Saturday, September 2nd. The Dutch are traveling to Fulton, Missouri to take on Westminster College out of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC). The Spartans are set to host Concordia Moorhead, hailing from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
The eight-game round robin American Rivers Conference schedule begins on Saturday, September 23rd with four games. Loras will host Buena Vista for the opening of league play, while Central will travel to Indianola for a match-up with Simpson. Dubuque will make a trip to Waverly to take on the Wartburg Knights and the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves are traveling to Decorah to kick off conference play against Luther. Coe begins league action on Saturday, September 30th with a trip to Waverly to take on the Knights.
Conference Tournament: At the conclusion of the regular season conference schedule, the top six teams move onto the 2023 Conference Tournament. The tournament begins Saturday, October 28th with the 4/5 seeds and the 3/6 seeds meeting at the higher seeded home pitch. On Wednesday, November 1st the winner of the 4/5 opening round game will travel to the No. 1 seed, while the 3/6 winner will make the trip to the No. 2 seed. The semifinal winners will face-off on Saturday, November 6th (at higher seed home venue) for the tournament title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
| 1st |
|
Loras College
Head Coach: Sam Koenig (1st season)
2022 Record: 10-6-2 overall, 5-1-2 A-R-C
2022 Conference Finish: 1st
NCAA Tournament (Last Appearance/Total Appearances): 2021/13
Returning All-Conference: Michael Brandt, Michael Kousopanagos, Ben Krogman
Starters Returning: 6
Starters Lost: 5
Sam Koenig - "We are extremely excited to start the season and build a family within the program!" |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2022 Statistics |
| Michael Brandt - (5th Year) |
16 games started // 2-goals // 2-assists // 6-SOG // 1-game winner |
| Reed Miklavcic - (Sr.) |
16 games started // 8-SOG // 4-goals // 1-assist // 2-game winners |
| Alex Beausoleil - (5th Year) |
13 games started // 11-SOG // 1-goal // 1-assist |
| Bryan Basinger - (Jr.) |
10 games started // 4-assists // 4-SOG |
| 2nd |
|
Luther College
Head Coach: Chris Garcia-Prats (16th season, 181-83-36 record)
2022 Record: 12-4-5 overall, 4-0-4 A-R-C
2022 Conference Finish: t-3rd
NCAA Tournament (Last Appearance/Total Appearances): 2022/6
Returning All-Conference: Raul Ferrandez (2022 All-Conference, D, Jr.), Hernan Manzanet (2022 Honorable Mention, D, Jr.), Will Valentine (2022 Honorable Mention, M, Sr.)
Starters Returning: 6
Starters Lost: 5
Chris Garcia-Prats - "Excited about the upcoming 2023 season and preparing for all the twists and turns of the college season! We return an experienced group who are coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance and a great spring season. We can't wait to add the new energy from our incoming group." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2022 Statistics |
| Raul Ferrandez - D (Jr.) |
20-of-21 games started // 5-SOG |
| Will Valentine - M (Sr.) |
21-of-21 games started // 5-SOG |
| Hernan Manzanet - D (Jr.) |
18-21-of-21 games started // 3-SOG // 1-assist |
| 3rd |
|
Wartburg College
Head Coach: Mike Madigan (7th season, 41-31-22 record)
2022 Record: 7-2-9 overall, 3-0-5 A-R-C
2022 Conference Finish: 4th
NCAA Tournament (Last Appearance/Total Appearances): 2014/9
Returning All-Conference: Edvin Rizvic (2022 All-Conference, F, 5th Year), Brennon Woody (2022 All-Conference, GK, 5th Year), Curtis Ratzer (2022 Honorable Mention, D, Sr.)
Starters Returning: 8
Starters Lost: 3
Mike Madigan - "With an experienced team returning, we're excited for a challenging year in the nationally competitive American Rivers Conference." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2022 Statistics |
| Edvin Rizvic - F (5th Year) |
18 games started // 6-goals // 3-assists // 25-SOG // 2-game winners |
| Brennon Woody - GK (5th Year) |
15 games started // 45-saves // 6-shutouts // 1,305 minutes |
| Curtis Ratzer - D (Sr.) |
15 games started // 2-goals // 1-assist // 6-SOG |
| t-4th |
|
Simpson College
Head Coach: Rick Isaacson (13th season, 130-77-21 record)
2022 Record: 12-4-3 overall, 4-1-3 A-R-C
2022 Conference Finish: 3rd
NCAA Tournament (Last Appearance/Total Appearances): 2000/1
Returning All-Conference: Ronaldo Ordaz (2022 All-Conference, F, Sr.)
Starters Returning: 4
Starters Lost: 7
Rick Isaacson - "The conference seems to improve with each passing year. We expect that trend to continue in 2023. Our players are looking forward to tackling the challenges that lie ahead throughout a rigorous A-R-C slate." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2022 Statistics |
| Ronaldo Ordaz - F (5th Year) |
19-games played // 6-goals // 4-assists // 32-SOG // 5-game winners |
| Andrew Russell - D (5th Year) |
19-games started // 3-assists // 1-goal // 4-SOG |
| Matt Hasken - M (Sr.) |
12 games started // 3-goals // 3-assists // 10-SOG |
| t-4th |
|
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Head Coach: Brandon Bonilla (6th season, 29-36-10 record)
2022 Record: 7-8-3 overall, 4-2-2 A-R-C
2022 Conference Finish: t-4th
NCAA Tournament (Last Appearance/Total Appearances): 2002/3
Returning All-Conference: Zachary Weis (2022 All-Conference, GK, Jr.)
Starters Returning: 9
Starters Lost: 2
Brandon Bonilla - "I am really excited about our group. We had a very strong conference performance last year and a strong recruiting class coming in. We are looking forward to building upon last season and hoping to take the next step forward in building our program." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2022 Statistics |
| Zachary Weis - GK (Jr.) |
15 games started // 71-saves // 4-shutouts // 1,292 minutes |
| Isaac Havemeier - D (So.) |
18-games played // 3-goals // 2-assists // 6-SOG |
| Thomas Distefano - F (5th Year) |
1-game played |
| Alex Kohler - F (Sr.) |
17-games played // 7-goals // 3-assists // 17-SOG // 2-game winners |
| Eli Rhodes - M (Jr.) |
17-games started // 2-goals // 2-assists // 5-SOG |
| 6th |
|
University of Dubuque
Head Coach: Scott Lennon (2nd season, 8-7-4 record)
2022 Record: 8-7-4 overall, 3-2-3 A-R-C
2022 Conference Finish: 6th
NCAA Tournament (Last Appearance/Total Appearances): 2016/1
Returning All-Conference: Gavin Wooldridge (2022 All-Conference, F, Jr.)
Starters Returning: 9
Starters Lost: 2
Scott Lennon - "Still very young, but hungry for success. Have a great group of men and I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do throughout the season." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2022 Statistics |
| Gavin Wooldridge - F (Jr.) |
19-games played // 6-goals // 3-assists // 17-SOG // 1-game winner |
| Matt Marchiori - GK (Jr.) |
15-games played // 63-saves // 5-shutouts // 1,373 minutes |
| Luca Friederick - D (So.) |
11-games started |
| Carson Kowalski - M (So.) |
19-games played // 1-assist // 5-SOG |
| Jonny Wiggins - D (Jr.) |
13-games played // 1-goal // 2-SOG |
| 7th |
|
Central College
Head Coach: Garry Laidlaw (25th season, 222-203-24 record)
2022 Record: 3-11-2 overall, 2-5-1 A-R-C
2022 Conference Finish: 7th
NCAA Tournament (Last Appearance/Total Appearances): 2019/1
Returning All-Conference: Joe Brown (2022 All-Conference, F, Jr.)
Starters Returning: 6
Starters Lost: 5
Garry Laidlaw - "We are excited to build upon the gains we feel we made coming off our March trip to the UK and subsequent spring season. We've also added a few new teams to our always competitive non-conference schedule with the idea of preparing for what will no doubt be another highly competitive conference season." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2022 Statistics |
| John Foster - GK (Sr.) |
16-games played // 75-saves // 4-shutouts // 1,395 minutes |
| Gabe Wilson - M (Sr.) |
6-games played // 1-assist // 1-SOG |
| Joe Brown - F (Jr.) |
16-games started // 4-goals // 3-assists // 10-SOG |
| 8th |
|
Coe College
Head Coach: Kyle Bakas (5th season, 4-35-4)
2022 Record: 2-14-1 overall, 1-7 A-R-C
2022 Conference Finish: 8th
NCAA Tournament (Last Appearance/Total Appearances): 0
Returning All-Conference: None
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost: 6
Kyle Bakas - "We are looking forward to playing with intensity and having a ton of fun this season!" |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2022 Statistics |
| Blake Jungman - D (Sr.) |
5-games started |
| Sam Sanchez - M (So.) |
16-games started // 2-goals // 11-SOG |
| Ian Kearney - M (So.) |
15-games played // 3-goals // 11-SOG |
| Carter Collis - M (Sr.) |
16-games played // 1-goal // 1-assist // 6-SOG |
| Alan Losoyo - D (So.) |
12-games played // 1-goal // 2-SOG |
| 9th |
|
Buena Vista University
Head Coach: Kelsey Resnick (1st season)
2022 Record: 0-15-2 overall, 0-8 A-R-C
2022 Conference Finish: 9th
NCAA Tournament (Last Appearance/Total Appearances): N/A
Returning All-Conference: None
Starters Returning: 8
Starters Lost: 3
Kelsey Resnick - "We are excited to improve throughout the season and test ourselves within such a competitive conference." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2022 Statistics |
| Connor Williams - D (Sr.) |
17-games started // 4-SOG |
| Marcos Rosales - M/F (Sr.) |
17 games started // 2-goals // 2-assists // 4-SOG |
