DENVER, CO – The Seattle Redhawks men’s soccer team was picked to come in first in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) this season, according to the Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
In the past seven seasons, the Redhawks have been the WAC preseason favorites five times. They are also riding into the current season with the longest active unbeaten streak in the nation at 16 games. Seattle received nine out of a possible 10 first place votes and 98 points in the poll. Utah Valley snagged the other first place vote and was picked to come in second with 81 total points.
“You have to play the games,” said SU Coach Pete Fewing. “We appreciate the shout-out. After winning the WAC last year, we know everyone will be coming for us again. We want to live up to the ranking. The WAC is one of the most underrated conferences in the country.”
2020-21 Preseason Men’s Soccer Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team (1st Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | Seattle U (9) | 98 |
| 2. | Utah Valley (1) | 81 |
| 3. | Air Force | 79 |
| 4. | Grand Canyon (1) | 65 |
| 5. | UNLV | 63 |
| 6. | San José State | 60 |
| 7. | California Baptist | 54 |
| 8. | UT Rio Grande Valley | 43 |
| 9. | Houston Baptist | 28 |
| 10. | UIW | 23 |
| 11. | Dixie State | 11 |
Dominating All-WAC Selection:
On top of being selected as the preseason favorites, four Redhawks were selected to the All-Conference team. James Morris, Noe Meza, Alex Acton-Petronotis, and Akili Kasim were all selected. Meza and Acton-Petronotis were also selected as preseason favorites for offensive and defensive player of the year, respectively.
2020-21 Preseason All-WAC Team
James Morris, So.,F, Seattle U
Rudi Castro, Sr., F, San José State
William Akio, Sr., F, UT Rio Grande Valley
Noe Meza, R-Sr., MF, Seattle U
Max Allen, Sr., MF, San José State
Tristan Trager, Jr., MF, Air Force
Alex Acton-Petronotis, Sr., D, Seattle U
Billy Jones, Sr., D, UNLV
Esai Easley, Jr., D, Grand Canyon
Mark Brown, R-Sr., D, Utah Valley
Akili Kasim, R-Jr., GK, Seattle U
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Noe Meza, Seattle U
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Alex Acton-Petronotis, Seattle U
Russell is the Content Director for the Eli Network. He studied broadcast journalism at Eastern Oregon and North Dakota State University. Mostly covers soccer and basketball in the Seattle area and is the current play-by-play voice for Seattle Redhawks basketball. You can follow him @brussbrwn.
