AUGUSTA, Ga. | Young Harris College has been selected to finish in second place in the Peach Belt Conference in a poll of the league's men's soccer head coaches.

Lander University has been selected the preseason favorite to repeat as regular-season champions.  The Bearcats captured four first-place votes and 33 points to edge Young Harris in second place with 30.  Lander captures the top spot in the preseason poll for the third time in the last five years and their first since 2018.  LU was 8-0 in regular-season play last spring, capturing their third regular-season title in the last five years. The Mountain Lions, which have won five league titles, finished second in the Peach Belt with a 5-2-2 record in their abbreviated spring season.

PBC Tournament champions Flagler College (29) were third in the voting with two first-place votes while Clayton State University (21) was fourth and the University of North Georgia (15) fifth.  Georgia Southwestern State University (12) and the University of South Carolina-Aiken (7) rounded out the voting. 

In addition, Val Feeney, Saad Maziane and Sondre Olsen were named to the preseason All-PBC team.

Val Feeney

• A senior midfielder from Roscrea, Ireland
• A first-team all-conference selection last spring who started in all nine games
• Had five assists on the season, tied for most in the PBC
• Named to the PBC All-Tournament team
• Ranked ninth in the PBC in shots on goal (10)

Saad Maziane

• A second-year freshman forward from Casablanca, Morocco
• A first-team all-conference selection who started all nine games last year with seven goals and three assists
• Led the PBC in shots (36), shots on goal (16), points (17) and goals
• Named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week on March 17
• Had three games with three or more points

Sondre Olsen

• A junior forward from Tromso, Norway
• A first-team all-conference selection who started all nine games with six goals and three assists
• Led the team and was tied for the conference lead with three game-winning goals
• Ranked second in the PBC in points (15) and tied for second in goals; he had at least one point in each of the first eight games of last season
• A PBC Presidential Honor Roll Presidential Scholar

The Mountain Lions open their 2021 season next Thursday (Sept. 2) at 7 p.m. as they entertain Lenoir-Rhyne University at the YHC Soccer and Recreation Field.

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