FREELAND, Mich. – The men's soccer preseason poll for the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association has been released, with the Trine University men's soccer team sitting in fourth place with 20 points to start the 2021 campaign.
Hope College was voted the preseason favorite for conference supremacy with six points. The Flying Dutch received six first-place votes, with Calvin close behind in second with 14 points and two first-place votes. Kalamazoo was inserted into the third spot with 17 total points.
Head coach David Jacobs is in his fifth season leading the Thunder on the pitch and is coming off an 11-5 year. Trine won two postseason games in the MIAA spring season and was a runner-up to Hope after a 2-1 overtime loss in the tournament final.
The five All-Conference recipients from the 2020-21 season are back for the Thunder: Jared Cromwell [Grand Rapids, Mich. / Northview], Beau Hill [Allen, Texas/Allen], Brian Morris [Metamora, Mich. / Lapeer], Tyler Murphy [Greenfield, Ind. / Greenfield Central], and Alhasan Yahya [Melvindale, Mich. Melvindale].
Cromwell was a First Team All-Conference defender for the Thunder last season that led the team to eight shutouts, tying them for fourth in program history. Four of those came in conference play, and Trine held four opponents scoreless in a row from April 8-20.
As a Second Team All-Conference pick, Hill joined Cromwell on the defensive side of the field. Hill was a starter in all 16 matches for the Thunder and held opponents to just 1.10 goals per match, the second-lowest total in the MIAA one season ago. The defense also put up the fourth-best goals against average in school history.
Morris found the back of the net five times last season to garner a Second Team All-Conference honor. The midfielder was a perfect 3-for-3 on penalty kicks, the most on the team in 2020-21. A Morris game-winning penalty kick was the difference in a 1-0 shutout at Adrian on April 8.
Murphy led the Thunder in goals (6) and was tied for the team lead in assists (4) for 16 points in a Second Team All-Conference season. From the midfield, Murphy took 25 shots, 17 on-goal, and connected on three game-winning goals in his freshman year. Murphy is riding a wave of momentum heading into the 2021 season after scoring in his final three games last spring.
Yahya scored four goals and assisted on four others in 2020-21 en route to his Second Team All-Conference accolade. He scored a goal in his first career game at Grace Christian last fall.
Trine men's soccer opens the 2021 season on the road at Manchester on September 1 at 3:30.
