THOMASVILLE, N.C. -- The Belmont Abbey men's soccer team has been picked to finish first in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference according to a vote of the league's head coaches. The Crusaders, the defending CVAC Tournament champions, were 12-8-1 overall and 8-2 in the CVAC last season. Anderson, coming off it best season ever in the CVAC (6-3-1) was picked fifth in the coaches' poll. Belmont Abbey received five first-place votes. Queens University of Charlotte received four first-place votes, while Mount Olive and Pfeiffer both received one first-place vote. Belmont Abbey returns 21 players from last year's team, including its top five scorers, who combined to score 26 of the Crusaders' 36 goals. Senior midfielder Nick Wyatt led the Abbey with ten goals and three assists for 23 points. Wyatt was named to the All-CVAC first team and the MVP of the CVAC Tournament along with earning First Team All-Southeast Region honors. Queens will have a new look for the 2006 season. The Royals lost five starters from the 2005 season, including three All-Americans. Coach Fred Norchi notched his 200th win in his 15th season last year and has led the Royals to three NCAA tournaments (1999, 2002 and 2004), five CVAC Tournament titles, and eight regular season titles. Queens has won the regular-season title six of the last seven years. The Royals will be led by first team All-CVAC selection Matt Herbstritt. Mount Olive brings back nine starters from a team that surpassed the 10-win mark for the second year in a row (6-3-1 CVAC, 11-6-2 overall) to take the third spot in the annual preseason poll. After winning the CVAC championship in 2004, the Trojans spent six consecutive weeks in the Adidas/NSCAA Division II Men's Soccer Top 25 in 2005, placing as high as No. 7. Mount Olive has six players who have earned All-CVAC honors during their careers, including junior goalkeeper and two-time honoree Chris Roush and seniors Chris Jasso, Erik Small, Charles Williams, and Michael Garrett and Brandon Mills. Pfeiffer finished fourth in the poll with Anderson fifth followed by Lees-McRae, St. Andrews, Barton, Limestone, Erskine, and Coker. CVAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll (# of First Place Votes in Parenthesis) 1. Belmont Abbey (5) 93 2. Queens (4) 91 3. Mount Olive (1) 79 4. Pfeiffer (1) 72 5. Anderson 69 6. Lees-McRae 55 7. St. Andrews 45 8. Barton 33 9. Limestone 32 10. Erskine 24 11. Coker 12