TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Following their first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) championship since 2016 last fall, the Geneva College men's soccer program was tabbed as the favorite to repeat as the 2024 champion, according to the league's annual preseason coaches' poll. Voted on by the conference's 11 head coaches, the results of this year's poll were revealed with the PAC's Players to Watch List Friday. 

Led by 15th-year head coach Gary Dunda, Geneva claimed eight first-place votes and 97 total points to earn the No. 1 spot in the coaches' poll. The Golden Tornadoes posted a 7-0-3 PAC record during the regular season to earn the top seed in last year's six-team championship tournament. Geneva then posted a 3-1 semifinal victory over Waynesburg University and a 1-0 shutout over Grove City College in the title match to win the program's second PAC crown and first since 2016. 

Last year's runner-up, Grove City, was picked to finish second after collecting two first-place votes and scoring 92 points. This marks the first time in six years the Wolverines and 19th-year head coach Mike Dreves were not voted as the preseason conference favorite.

Franciscan University, who also made the postseason last year and went 1-1 in the ECAC Tournament, was picked third in the balloting with the final first-place vote and 81 points. Coming in fourth was Allegheny College with 62 points, while Waynesburg University and 2023 PAC Coach of the Year Treg Lunger earned fifth place with 57 points.

The Yellow Jackets were followed by Chatham University in sixth with 55 points, Bethany College in seventh (44), Saint Vincent College in eighth (40), Washington & Jefferson College in ninth (37), Westminster College (29) and Thiel College (11).

A total of 27 All-PAC players from 2023 return to their respective teams this fall, including eight First Team selections, five Second Team selections and 14 Honorable Mention choices.

All three major award winners from the 2023 season will be back on the field this season, including the PAC Offensive Player of the Year in Franciscan junior forward Lucas Cross (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate), the Defensive Player of the Year in Geneva senior goalkeeper Evan Shale (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) and Chatham sophomore forward Azavier Coppin (Everett, Wash./Glacier Peak), who was recognized as the PAC Newcomer of the Year.

Cross' award last fall marked the second straight year a Franciscan player earned top player laurels after Nick Miller was the Player of the Year in 2022. Cross, who led the conference with 14 goals and 31 points through the season, did the majority of his damage in conference action, scoring 10 of his 14 goals against PAC teams, including two of his three game-winners. 

Shale helped lead Geneva to its PAC championship with his outstanding play in goal. The goalkeeper led the conference with nine shutouts, six of those coming in PAC matches. Geneva allowed just eight goals in conference games, with Shale posting an .822 save percentage. He helped the GTs start the PAC schedule with a 7-0 record by posting shutouts in six of those seven victories.

Coppin's first season at Chatham was a record-breaking one, as he set a new program single-season standard with 13 goals and he added four assists to finish with 30 points in his freshman campaign. In addition to being second in the PAC in goals and points, he ranked fifth in the nation among freshmen in both categories. 

The Players to Watch list also includes 16 student-athletes who earned a spot on the Fall 2023 PAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes on varsity sports teams who earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition. 

The conference's regular season concludes Wednesday, October 30, with the six-team PAC Championship Tournament scheduled to get underway Saturday, Nov. 2. The title match is slated for Saturday, November 9.

 

2024 PAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2023 record (conference)
1. Geneva College (8)	97	12-5-4 (7-0-3 PAC)
2. Grove City College (2)	92	9-6-5 (6-3-1 PAC)
3. Franciscan University (1)	81	12-6-3 (6-1-3 PAC)
4. Allegheny College	62	6-11 (5-5 PAC)
5. Waynesburg University	57	10-7-2 (5-3-2 PAC)
6. Chatham University	55	6-9-3 (5-3-2 PAC)
7. Bethany College	44	4-10-3 (3-5-2 PAC)
8. Saint Vincent College	40	6-10-2 (2-6-2 PAC)
9. Washington & Jefferson College	37	4-7-5 (3-3-4 PAC)
10. Westminster College	29	5-8-4 (2-7-1 PAC)
11. Thiel College	11	1-13-3 (0-8-2 PAC)

2024 PAC Men's Soccer Players to Watch
1=2023 1st Team All-PAC / 2=2nd Team All-PAC / HM = Honorable Mention

Allegheny College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Will Gruca (HM)	So.	M	Baden, Pa./Ambridge
Brady Napoleon (1)	Sr.	D	Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon
Cliff Weaver	Sr.	F	Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein

 

Bethany College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Sam Bedoya	Fr.	D	Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner
Ousainou Conateh	So.	F	Oaktown, Va./Oakton
Matteo Pintus (HM)	Sr.	GK	Cagliari, Italy/Liceo Euclide
Taivier Stewart	Sr.	F	Toronto, Canada/Niagara Community College (Canada)
Nahuel Vivas	Jr.	D	Salta, Argentina/Colegio Parroquial San Alfonso

 

Chatham University
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Azavier Coppin (1)	So.	F	Everett, Wash./Glacier Peak
Luke Matzelle	So.	F	Palm Harbor, Fla./East Lake
Anthony Quidachay (HM)	Grad.	D	Broomfield, Colo./Legacy
Colin Sullivan (HM)	So.	D	Dublin, Ohio/St. Charles Prep

 

Franciscan University
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Lucas Cross (1)	Jr.	F	Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate
Ryan Miller (1)	Sr.	M	Galena, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin
Augustine Rubino (2)	Jr.	M	Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge
Jonathan Schriner (HM)	Sr.	F	Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton
Joseph St. George (1)	Sr.	D	Ashburn, Va./Bishop O'Connell

 

Geneva College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Wil Dunda (1)	Jr.	M	Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley
Carnel Kerr (2)	Sr.	F	Flankers, Jamaica/Carlynton (Pa.)
Darren Main (HM)	Sr.	D	Denver, Pa./Cocalico
Dominic Sambuco (2)	Sr.	D	Venetia, Pa./Peters Township
Evan Shale (1)	Sr.	GK	Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg

 

Grove City College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Aiden Eck (HM)	Jr.	M	Akron, Pa./Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
Noah Gray	So.	M	Avonmore, Pa./The Christian Academy
John-Luc Harbour (HM)	Sr.	M	Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield
Matt Herrmann (2)	Jr.	M	Hilton, N.Y./Paul V. Moore
Luke Kimmich	Sr.	F	Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional

 

Saint Vincent College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Oziel Bonola-Soriano	So.	F	Willards, Md./Parkside
Ethan Bridges	Jr.	D	Peoria, Ariz./Sandra Day O'Connor
Cade Coldiron	So.	M	Powell, Ohio/Mars Area- Pa.
Kameron Rock	Jr.	GK	Pittsburgh, Pa./City Charter
Mattia Speretta	or.	F	Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde

   

Thiel College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Grant Becker	So.	M	North Olmsted, Ohio/North Olmsted
Hunter Blatt	Sr.	F	Greenville, Pa./Greenville
Evan Kosenina (HM)	Sr.	D	Clinton, Pa./West Allegheny
Jonah Lentz	Sr.	D	Greenville, Pa./Greenville
AJ Trobek (HM)	Grad.	F	Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard

   

Washington & Jefferson College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Charlie Boldosser	Sr.	GK	Westminster, Md./South Carroll
Ethan Bowser (HM)	Jr.	M	McKeesport, Pa./Elizabeth Forward
Jimmy Gogol (HM)	So.	F	Westminster, Md./Westminster
Antonio Romero	Sr.	M	Bowie, Md./Bowie
Justin Parker Wyatt	So.	F	Coatesville, Pa./Unionville

 

Waynesburg University
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Michael Francus (HM)	Sr.	GK	Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park
Zachary Johnson (1)	So.	F	Raceland, Ky./Saint Joseph Central Catholic
Seth Massotti (2)	Sr.	F	Douglass, Mass./Whitinsville Christian

 

Westminster College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Mason Baldwin	Sr.	M	Seven Fields, Pa./Seneca Valley
Brendan Callahan	Sr.	M	Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem
Connor Schmidt (HM)	Sr.	F	Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley