ELKINS, W.Va. — The Davis & Elkins College men's soccer team has been selected second in the 2025 Mountain East Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Poll, the league office announced Tuesday.
The Senators received one first-place vote and 43 points in the voting conducted by the MEC's eight head coaches. The University of Charleston, which finished as NCAA Division II national runner-up last season, earned 49 points and seven first-place votes to take the top spot. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams.
D&E is coming off a 10-6-3 campaign in 2024, including a 7-5-2 record in MEC play. The Senators reached the conference tournament semifinals before falling to Concord, 6-4, in the highest-scoring game in MEC tournament history.
The Senators will look to blend a strong group of returners with 14 incoming freshmen this fall. Key returners include forward Hugo Fauli, who tallied six goals and two assists while appearing in 18 games last season; midfielder Francisco Lopez Kreik, who started 18 contests and recorded three goals and two assists; and defender Yiftah Harari, who played in eight games with seven starts. Additional returners include senior midfielder Kendall Pellot, sophomore defender Andreas Petrou, senior defender Joao Cavaletti, and senior defender Trabi Diakite.
"This is a competitive conference. There are no easy games and we will have to prove ourselves each week," head coach Meir Lewin said. "We're working on integrating new players and hope they can acclimate quickly to the demands of the MEC."
The 2025 men's soccer season begins Thursday, Sept. 4, with five MEC teams in non-conference action. Davis & Elkins will host its home opener that same day at 2 p.m. against Ashland University at Nuttall Field.
Concord was voted third in the poll with 35 points, followed by West Liberty (27), West Virginia Wesleyan (24), Point Park (19), Wheeling (15), and Frostburg State (12).
2025 MEC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
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Charleston (7) – 49
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Davis & Elkins (1) – 43
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Concord – 35
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West Liberty – 27
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West Virginia Wesleyan – 24
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Point Park – 19
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Wheeling – 15
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Frostburg State – 12
The full release is available on the Mountain East Conference website here.
