PORTLAND, Ore. – Topping the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s soccer preseason coaches poll for the eighth consecutive season, Simon Fraser emerged as the favorite to defend last year’s conference title.
 
In a poll that mimicked last year’s neck-and-neck championship race with Western Oregon, the Red Leafs edged the Wolves by two points 43-41 and received 5 of 7 first-place votes. The Wolves, who were in the hunt for the GNAC title through their final match of the 2023 campaign, received the other two first-place votes and are once again expected to be a contender in just their third season of existence.
 

Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2023 Record	GNAC Record (Finish)	2024 Schedule	2024 Roster
1	Simon Fraser (5)	43	11-5-2	8-2-1 (1st)	SFU Schedule	SFU Roster
2	Western Oregon (2)	41	11-3-3	8-1-3 (2nd)	WOU Schedule	WOU Roster
T3	Seattle Pacific	32	5-9-4	3-6-3 (5th)	SPU Schedule	SPU Roster
T3	Western Washington	32	6-6-6	3-4-5 (T3rd)	WWU Schedule	WWU Roster
5	Northwest Nazarene	25	5-7-6	3-4-5 (T3rd)	NNU Schedule	NNU Roster
6	Montana State Billings	13	5-8-3	2-6-2 (7th)	MSUB Schedule	MSUB Roster
7	Saint Martin's	10	4-8-4	2-6-3 (6th)	SMU Schedule	SMU Roster
Points awarded on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

 

Beginning his 10th season at the helm of the SFU program, head coach Clint Schneider will look to guide his team to a successful title defense. After winning seven GNAC titles during its first nine seasons as a conference member from 2010-18, SFU broke a four-year drought last fall by reclaiming the GNAC trophy. The Red Leafs went 11-5-2 overall and 8-2-1 in conference play, posting a points per game average of 2.27 to win the title.
 
The top offensive talent back on SFU’s roster is 2023 GNAC Freshman of the Year Michael Hennessy, who led the team and ranked second in the conference with 13 goals in his debut collegiate campaign. Fellow sophomore Koji Poon posed a similar threat in his premier, chipping in eight goals and adding three assists while starting all 18 matches up top. Senior Hamish Ogden is the other returning Red Leaf who scored multiple goals last fall, finding the net three times while starting all 18 matches.
 
The back line figures to be anchored by senior Nicolai Placzek, who started 17 matches and logged 1,425 minutes in 2023. Seniors Isak Strand (11 matches/six starts), Mads Poulsson (18 matches/two starts) and Cole Toupin (15 matches/seven starts) are the other upperclassman returners who figure to plug significant departures from the program. SFU bid farewell to both 2023 GNAC Player of the Year Devin O’Hea and GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Niko Papakyriakopoulos, as well honorable mention all-GNAC picks Ali Zohar (midfielder) and Justyn Sandhu (goalkeeper).
 
Michael Behonick was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year in 2023 after putting the Wolves on the map in just their second year of existence. WOU went 11-3-3 behind the first-year head man, including an 8-1-3 record in conference play for an average of 2.25 points to finish a tick below Simon Fraser.
 
Returning to the roster after earning first-team all-GNAC in 2023 is midfielder Yahir Ocampo, who led the Wolves with six assists and added three goals for a dozen total points. Alejandro Velasco, who ranked second on the team with six goals while adding three assists, is also back for the Wolves in 2024.
 
On the defensive side, the Wolves return a pair of honorable mention all-conference selections in sophomore Ethan Fisher and junior Harper Neubeck. Fisher started all 17 matches and played 1,459 minutes, while Neubeck started 16 matches and logged 1,403 minutes. WOU will need to replace goalkeeper Juan Suarez, who played every minute and had five shutouts, as well as first-team forward Gabriel Silva who led the team with nine goals.
 
Tying for third in the preseason poll with 32 points apiece were Seattle Pacific and Western Washington.
 
The Falcons are coming off a 5-9-4 record in 2023, finishing fifth in the GNAC standings with a league record of 3-6-3 for an average of 1.00 points per game. SPU is led by fourth-year head coach Kevin Sakuda, who delivered the

Falcons’ most recent GNAC title during his first season in 2021.
 
SPU’s Raymundo Mendez was a first-team all-conference pick and the GNAC Newcomer of the year last fall, leading the team and tying SFU’s Hennessy for the second most goals in the GNAC with 13. Also returning to the Falcons’ front line is Orlando Erazo, who led the team with five assists and ranked second behind Mendez with six goals on his way to second-team all-GNAC honors. Connor Tollan and Joseph Van Horn are two more all-conference returners for SPU, after combining to score four goals and add four assists last season.
 
Defensively, the Falcons are led by fifth-year senior Evan Aune who was a first-team all-GNAC pick in 2023. Throughout his career in the maroon, Aune has played in 54 matches and logged more than 4,600 minutes patrolling the back line. Fifth-year senior Donovahn Allen is coming off 12 starts in 2023, and Isaac Ketchum started 16 of 18 matches while adding a goal and two assists as a defender.
 
Western Washington tied for third in last year’s GNAC standings, going 6-6-6 overall and 3-4-5 in conference play for 1.17 points per game. Head coach Greg Brisbon begins his 12th season leading the Vikings in 2024, and produced the program’s most recent GNAC title during the 2019 campaign.
 
First-team all-GNAC forward Albin Jonsson is back on the roster for WWU in 2024, after leading the team with five goals and a pair of assists for 12 points. The Vikings’ other first-teamer in 2023, Sebastiano Silvetti, will bring his 6-foot-5 presence to the WWU back line once again in his sophomore season. Senior midfielder Lucas Hakamada, a second-team pick in 2023, returns after starting 17 of 18 matches and logging 1,338 minutes.
 
The returning depth doesn’t stop there, with honorable mention all-GNAC picks senior Andrew Rotter (forward) and sophomore Edgar Serrano (midfielder) both also on the roster this season. Serrano ranked second on the team with three goals in his freshman season, while Rotter turned in a pair of goals and an assist last fall. WWU’s biggest loss was goalkeeper Brandon Locke, who played every minute of the 2023 season and tied for the GNAC lead with a goals-against average of 1.00.
   

Checking in fifth in the preseason poll was Northwest Nazarene, which secured 25 points. The Nighthawks went 5-7-6 overall and matched WWU with a record of 3-4-5 in league play for an average of 1.17 points per game. James Williamson begins his second season leading the program in the fall of 2024. NNU last claimed a GNAC title during the 2022 campaign when it went 9-2-1 in conference play.
 
One of the most exciting players in the conference returns for his sophomore season, as 2023 GNAC leading scorer Jim Wagenaar is back on the Nighthawk roster. Finding the net a total of 14 times during his debut season, Wagenaar notched hat tricks in back-to-back games on Oct. 5 and Oct. 12 and had four multi-goal performances in 2023. Senior midfielder Jonathan Cardona, a first-team pick in 2023, led the squad with four assists while starting 17 of 18 matches. Senior Pablo Gonzalez is the team’s other returning all-conference player, after starting all 18 matches in the midfield. The Nighthawks will have to replace first-team all-GNAC goalkeeper Sawyer Price, whose 253 career saves were eighth-most in GNAC history.
 
Under new leadership this fall, Montana State Billings was slated sixth in the preseason poll with 13 points. The Yellowjackets will turn to alumnus Paul Cuevas (2019-21) as the interim head coach this fall. MSUB went 5-8-3 overall in 2023 and finished seventh in the GNAC standings with a league record of 2-6-2 (0.80 points per game).
 
Junior Kolja Thomas is one of the top center backs in the conference, returning to the Yellowjacket lineup after earning second-team all-GNAC in 2023. Thomas started 15 of 16 matches and contributed a goal and an assist from the back line. His fellow center back Guillermo Gonzalez, an honorable mention selection in 2023, is also back on the roster this fall.
 
Senior Kamden Beck is another returning honorable mention all-GNAC pick, after seeing action in all 16 matches and contributing a goal and an assist. Bjarne Fedkenhauer gives MSUB an experienced midfielder with 31 matches played the last two seasons, while seniors Jack Jarrett and Ryan Hanley have 40 caps and 33 caps, respectively in their Yellowjacket careers. MSUB will look to replace 2023 goalkeeper Jeremi Campagnolo, who started all 16 games and totaled 57 saves.
 
Collecting 10 points in the preseason poll, Saint Martin’s was projected to finish seventh in this year’s standings. The Saints went 4-8-4 overall in 2023, including a mark of 2-6-3 in conference play to finish in sixth place with 0.82 points per game. Rob Walker begins his 18th season leading the SMU program in the fall of 2024.
 
Xander Koenig, an honorable mention all-conference pick in 2023, is back on the SMU roster after leading the team with four goals and adding an assist for nine points. Another key offensive component will be senior forward Angel Alvarado-Fajardo, who netted a pair of goals and started all 16 matches last season. Senior Ethan Jud, a 2022 honorable mention selection, is back on the roster after missing the 2023 campaign.
 
The 2024 regular season kicks off on Sept. 5, with all seven GNAC teams engaging in non-conference action. The 12-match conference schedule begins on Oct. 3 and runs through Nov. 16. The GNAC regular-season champion earns the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships, which will run Nov. 21-24 at the site of the top regional seeds.
 
NOTE: The 2023 GNAC men’s soccer standings were based on points per game due to an imbalance in the number of conference games played caused by weather-related cancellations. The 2024 GNAC standings will be sorted by total points accumulated.