Lancaster, Pa. – (8/30/2023) – The most recent in this week's series of preseason announcement from the league office, Commissioner Jessica Huntley has officially announced the results of the 2023 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Men's Soccer Preseason Poll. Garnering five of the seven available first-place votes from the league's head men's soccer coaches, Marymount University totaled 35 points to headline the forecasted standings. Gwynedd Mercy University received seven total points and finished seventh in the seven-team poll. The Griffins recorded their only win of the 2022 early in the season as losses to Clarks Summit University (L, 0-3 on Sept. 1) and Rosemont College (L, 0-3 on Sept. 3) were avenged by an impressive 6-1 victory over the Nittany Lions from Penn State Mont Alto (Sept. 6). A 1-16-1 overall and a 0-6 conference standing left Gwynedd Mercy University out of the AEC postseason.
 
Neumann University (27 total points, 1 first-place vote) and Immaculata University (24, 1) collected the remaining first-place votes to respectively place second and fourth in the preseason poll. Between the Knights and Mighty Macs was Cabrini University with 26 total points. Marywood University (17), Centenary University (NJ) (11), and Gwynedd Mercy University (7) filled the final three spots.
 
The Gwynedd Mercy University coaching staff will be working with several familiar faces as graduates Hugh Lynch (Philadelphia, Pa.), Evan Kirby (Bensalem, Pa.), and John Wagner (Phoenixville, Pa.) are joined by senior defenseman Mike Fienman (Philadelphia, Pa.) as team captains. Lynch totaled four points (1 goal, 2 assists) in four games before losing the 2022 season to injury. Kirby recorded three points (1 goal, 1 assist), while Wagner (0-11-1) played a majority of the minutes in goal (914:06) and made an AEC-high 86 saves on a .683 save percentage and a 3.94 goals-against average (GAA).
 
The 2023 AEC Men's Soccer Championship Tournament is scheduled to begin on Saturday, October 28 with semifinal and championship dates respectively marked for Tuesday, October 31, and Saturday, November 4.
 
The complete results of the 2023 AEC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll are listed below and available using the provided links.
 
2023 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
 

Rank.School	Total Points	1st Place Votes
1. Marymount University	35	5
2. Neumann University	27	1
3. Cabrini University	26
4. Immaculata University	24	1
5. Marywood University	17
6. Centenary University (NJ)	11
7. Gwynedd Mercy University	7