Men's Soccer | 8/20/2025 11:00:00 AM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - In the closest voting since 2021, Grove City College was picked as the preseason men's soccer favorite in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), according to the league's yearly coaches' poll. Voted on by the conference's 12 head coaches, the final numbers of this year's poll were revealed Wednesday, along with the PAC's Players to Watch List.
By earning six first-place votes and 116 total points, the Wolverines and 20th-year head coach Mike Dreves earned the first spot in the preseason poll for the sixth time in the last seven years. Grove City just edged Franciscan University, who gathered five first place votes and 113 points, for the No. 1 position, the closest vote since Grove City was first in the 2021 balloting by one point in front of both Geneva College and Washington & Jefferson College.
Defending champion Franciscan, guided by 2024 PAC Coach of the Year Brent Ridenour, won their second PAC crown in program history last fall. The Barons, now in their fifth year under Ridenour's direction, went 7-0-3 during the PAC regular season to earn the top seed for the conference tournament. Once there, Franciscan topped Allegheny College 4-2 in the semifinals and Grove City 2-1 in the championship match for the program's second league crown in the last three years. The Barons finished the 2024 season with a 13-2-5 overall record following a hard-fought 1-0 setback against Ohio Northern University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Not far from the top two teams was Geneva College, as the 2023 PAC champions ranked third in the poll with 104 points and the final first-place vote. Earning fourth was Allegheny with 82 points, with Waynesburg University coming in sixth (78), Chatham University in seventh (69) and W&J in eighth (65).
Finishing in a tie for ninth was Saint Vincent College and Westminster College with 40 points, followed by Hiram College with 35 and Bethany College and Thiel College tying with 25 points.
This season's polling included Hiram, who joins the PAC in all sports this year after coming over from the North Coast Athletic Conference. A member of the PAC from 1971-89, this will be the Terriers' first year playing in the PAC since the fall of 1988, which saw Hiram post a 1-3-1 conference record on their way to a 5-8-3 overall mark.
A total of 16 All-PAC players from 2024 will be back on the field for their respective teams this season, including five First Team players, four Second Team choices and seven Honorable Mention selections. Among those highlighting the Players to Watch list is last year's leading scorer in the conference and the 2023 PAC Player of Year in Franciscan senior forward Lucas Cross, as well as Waynesburg sophomore midfielder Sarpong Kwabiah, the 2024 PAC Newcomer of the Year.
After leading the PAC with 14 goals and 31 points while earning Player of the Year in 2023, Cross once again led the conference in scoring in 2024. He posted 44 points with a new Franciscan single-season record 20 goals and four assists and was named First Team All-PAC and Most Outstanding Player of the PAC Tournament. Cross led the Barons with four game-winning goals, had six multi-goal games, including a pair of hat tricks, and would add Second Team All-Region from the United Soccer Coaches for the second year in a row following his record-setting season.
Kwabiah had an instant impact in his freshman season at Waynesburg, garnering Second Team All-PAC and becoming the first Yellow Jacket to earn the top Newcomer Award in the conference. His eight goals and 21 points led Waynesburg, as did his four game-winning goals, which also tied for second in the PAC. Over half of his production came against league opponents, as he scored five times and totaled 12 points in 10 PAC matches this year.
The Players to Watch list also includes 23 student-athletes who earned a spot on the Fall 2024 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 will finish on Wednesday, October 29th, with the six-team PAC Championship Tournament slated to start with quarterfinal action on Saturday, Nov. 1st. The title match is scheduled for Saturday, November 8th.
| 2025 PAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2024 record (conference) |
| 1. Grove City College (6) |
116 |
11-4-3 (7-2-1 PAC) |
| 2. Franciscan University (5) |
113 |
13-2-5 (7-0-3 PAC) |
| 3. Geneva College (1) |
104 |
12-3-5 (6-0-4 PAC) |
| 4. Allegheny College |
82 |
7-11-3 (5-3-2 PAC) |
| 5. Waynesburg University |
78 |
7-6-4 (3-3-4 PAC) |
| 6. Chatham University |
69 |
7-6-6 (4-2-4 PAC) |
| 7. Washington & Jefferson College |
65 |
7-11-1 (4-5-1 PAC) |
| 8t. Saint Vincent College |
40 |
2-11-6 (1-8-1 PAC) |
| 8t. Westminster College |
40 |
5-9-3 (2-7-1 PAC) |
| 10. Hiram College |
35 |
3-12-2 (0-8 NCAC) |
| 11t. Bethany College |
25 |
1-11-4 (1-5-4 PAC) |
| 11t. Thiel College |
25 |
7-8-2 (2-7-1 PAC) |
2025 PAC Men's Soccer Players to Watch
1=2024 1st Team All-PAC / 2=2nd Team All-PAC / HM = Honorable Mention
| Allegheny College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Aidan Dyga (HM) |
Jr. |
D |
Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny |
| Will Gruca (1) |
Jr. |
M |
Baden, Pa./Ambridge |
| Ben Keefer |
So. |
M |
Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley |
| Jacob Kubik-Pauw |
Sr. |
D |
Guatemala City, Guatemala/Hanover-N.H. |
| Nick Magee |
Jr. |
F |
Venetia, Pa./Peters Township |
| Bethany College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Ricardo Diaz |
Jr. |
M |
Yuba City, Calif./Del Campo |
| Derieck Hernandez |
So. |
F |
New Orleans, La./Kenner Discovery |
| Adam Imulse |
Jr. |
GK |
Cincinnati, Ohio/Finneytown |
| Hector Torres |
Sr. |
D |
Willits, Calif./Willits |
| Nahuel Vivas |
Sr. |
D |
Salta, Argentina/Colegio Parroquial San Alfonso |
| Chatham University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Maxwell Cottrill (HM) |
Jr. |
GK |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh CAPA |
| Emilio Herrera |
So. |
M |
San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prep |
| Xavier Johnston |
Jr. |
M |
Springfield, Va./Saint Stephen's Saint Agnes School |
| Justin Knox |
Jr. |
M |
Cambridge Md./Cambridge South Dorchester |
| Franciscan University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Lucas Cross (1) |
Sr. |
F |
Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate |
| Aidan Henninger |
Sr. |
D |
Sequim, Wash./Sequim |
| Aiden Miller (2) |
Jr. |
GK |
Galena, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin |
| Zachary Muldoon (2) |
Sr. |
D |
Cincinnati, Ohio/Homeschooled |
| Augustine Rubino (HM) |
Sr. |
M |
Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge |
| Geneva College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Wil Dunda (1) |
Sr. |
M |
Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley |
| Luke Main |
So. |
M |
Denver, Pa./Cocalico |
| Mike Rogers |
Sr. |
M |
Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Twp. |
| Gabe Singh (HM) |
Sr. |
M |
Valencia, Pa./Mars |
| Caleb Thompson |
Sr. |
D |
Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park |
| Grove City College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Aiden Eck (1) |
Sr. |
M |
Akron, Pa./Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy |
| Noah Gray (2) |
Jr. |
M |
Glen Mills, Pa./The Christian Academy |
| Matt Herrmann |
Sr. |
M |
Hilton, N.Y./Paul V. Moore |
| Luke Kimmich |
5th |
F |
Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional |
| Camden Thomas (1) |
Sr. |
M |
North Lima, Ohio/South Range |
| Hiram College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Carmine Boscarello |
So. |
M |
Olmsted Falls, Ohio/Olmsted Falls |
| Alex Lineen |
So. |
F |
Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg |
| Simon Schonfeld (3rd Team All-NCAC) |
Jr. |
D |
Wooster, Ohio/Wooster |
| Jimmy Zeilmann |
Jr. |
D |
North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton |
| Saint Vincent College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jack Billick (HM) |
So. |
M |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-LaSalle |
| Oziel Bonola-Soriano |
Jr. |
F |
Willards, Md./Parkside |
| Cade Coldiron |
Jr. |
M |
Powell, Ohio/Mars Area-Pa. |
| Bruno Hurtado |
Jr. |
M |
Santa Cruz, Bolivia/Santa Cruz Cooperative School |
| Cameron Mulvanny |
Jr. |
M |
Denton, Texas/John H. Guyer |
| Thiel College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Pierson Badowski |
Jr. |
M |
Grove City, Pa./Grove City |
| Grant Becker |
Jr. |
M |
North Olmsted, Ohio/North Olmsted |
| Trey Grazier |
Jr. |
D |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler |
| Mitchell Strauss (HM) |
So. |
F |
Bradford, Pa./Bradford Area |
| Washington & Jefferson College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jonathan Barahona |
Fr. |
F |
Leesburg, Va./Tuscarora |
| Ethan Bowser |
Sr. |
F/M |
Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward |
| Luke Curran |
Fr. |
D/M/F |
Ellicott City, Md./Mount St. Joseph |
| Jimmy Gogol |
Jr. |
M |
Westminster, Md./Westminster |
| Cole Young |
Jr. |
D |
Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West |
| Waynesburg University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Noah Biser |
So. |
D |
Wake Forest, N.C./Wake Forest |
| Zachary Johnson |
Jr. |
F |
Raceland, Ky./Saint Joseph Central Catholic |
| Sarpong Kwabiah (2) |
So. |
M |
Odenton, Md./Meade |
| Mason Lewis (HM) |
Jr. |
M |
Venetia, Pa./Peters Township |
| Josh Smith |
So. |
F |
Dover, Ohio/Dover |
| Westminster College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Orrin Milcic |
Jr. |
M |
Butler, Pa./Homeschooled (Knoch) |
| Nisho Simon |
So. |
D |
Kapolei, Hawaii/Mililani |