The Lander men’s soccer team tied for first as the 2017 Peach Belt Conference preseason coaches poll was announced Friday by the league office.
The Bearcats, who received four first-place votes, tied with Young Harris, who also received four first-place votes, with 46 points overall. Francis Marion and North Georgia tied for third, followed by Flagler, Clayton State, USC Aiken and Georgia Southwestern.
Lander claimed the PBC regular-season championship with an unblemished 9-0-0 record in PBC play and advanced to the Peach Belt Conference tournament championship match for the second consecutive year. The Bearcats finished the 2016 season with a 14-4-1 record. This year, 10 starters return, including seniors Sam Lofts and Jamie North and junior Jordan Skelton, who were selected to the preseason All-PBC team, juniors Richard Bryan and Michael Leach, who were named Second-Team All-PBC last season, and sophomore Dean Cowdroy, who was the league’s Freshman of the Year.
The Bearcats open the regular season at home on Thursday, August 31, at 7:30 p.m. against Chowan.
