MIAC Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - The Saint John's University soccer team was picked to finish sixth out of 11 teams in the 2019 MIAC Preseason Coaches' poll released Wednesday, Aug. 28.

Carleton, the defending MIAC playoff champion, received five of the 11 first-place votes and 91 points to earn the poll's top spot. St. Thomas and Gustavus Adolphus earned 85 points, though the Tommies collected four first-place votes to the Gusties' two. 

The Johnnies saw their streak of consecutive MIAC Playoff appearances end at six, by one point, with a 4-6 record (8-7-1 overall) in 2018.

The MIAC Playoffs will include six teams for the sixth consecutive season in 2019. The first round is scheduled for Nov. 5, followed by the semifinals Nov. 6. The MIAC Playoff Championship, and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs, is scheduled for Nov. 9. The contest's higher seed will host the game in all three rounds.

Nine of the Johnnies' 17 games this season will be at Haws Field in Collegeville - including the season opener at 1 p.m. this Saturday, Aug. 31, vs. Nebraska Wesleyan - and another will be played as a neutral-site match at nearby College of Saint Benedict (Sept. 13 vs. Loras, Iowa). All nine home games are scheduled to take place on the weekend, with six on Saturday and three on Sunday.

SJU's 2019 schedule is no push-over, as six of the opponents won 13 games or more last season, five of which participated in the 2018 NCAA Division III Tournament.

2019 MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Coaches voted for every team in the conference except their own team. Points were assigned for each vote (10 for first, nine for second, etc.). Teams are ranked in order of highest point total to lowest with vote totals listed and first-place votes shown in parentheses.

1. Carleton (5), 91
2. St. Thomas (4), 85
3. Gustavus (2), 85
4. Macalester, 76
5. Augsburg, 68
6. Saint John's, 49
7. Hamline, 44
8. St. Olaf, 42
9. Saint Mary's, 31
10. Bethel, 19
11. Concordia, 15