ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Anderson University men's soccer team has been chosen as the No. 2 team in the South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches' poll, as announced by the league office Thursday morning.

Wingate, the defending South Atlantic Conference regular season co-champion, is the favorite to win the league's men's soccer title again in 2011, edging the Trojans for the top spot by a single point in the poll.

"There are certainly a lot of very strong teams in our conference," said Anderson head coach Rob Miller. "So I feel that this a positive sign of the respect for our team in the conference and I feel good about the possibilities of moving past that and hopefully winning the conference."

Anderson will open the season ranked 17th in the NSCAA national poll - the only SAC school to appear in the preseason top 25. The Trojans won the Food Lion SAC Tournament last season and won 12 of its final 14 outings to capture the league tournament crown and advanced to the NCAA Championship Southeast Regional Final.

Lincoln Memorial is third in the poll - including one first-place vote, followed by Carson-Newman and Mars Hill. The Lions also received a first-place vote in the poll.

Rounding out the poll is Lenoir-Rhyne at No. 6, then Tusculum, Catawba, Newberry and Brevard.

Also announced on Thursday was the men's soccer preseason All-Conference team.

Anderson led the way with a league-high four student-athletes on the first team, including reigning SAC Player of the Year and Daktronics All-American Lasse Sohrweide. Clement Samson, Ben Jones and James Moseley were named to the first team, while Ryan Messick earned second team accolades.

Mars Hill had three players on the first team and two on the second team, while Carson-Newman and Wingate each have four preseason all-conference selections.

Catawba, Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne each have two All-SAC selections.

2011 SAC men's soccer action gets underway on Sept. 1, with AU getting on the pitch a day later at the Clayton State Laker Shootout.

Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll

Team Points (1st-Place)
1. Wingate 93 (6)
2. Anderson 92 (2)
3. Lincoln Memorial 76 (1)
4. Carson-Newman 63
5. Mars Hill 60 (1)
6. Lenoir-Rhyne 52
7. Tusculum 43
8. Catawba 34
9. Newberry 19
10. Brevard 18

Preseason All-SAC Team

First Team
F - Lasse Sohrweide, Anderson
F - Clement Samson, Anderson
F - Robbie Hill, Carson-Newman
F - Gui Lima, Wingate
MF - Ben Jones, Anderson
MF - Shadi Harb, Mars Hill
MF - Isiah Shafer, Mars Hill
MF - Carson Smith, Catawba
D - James Moseley, Anderson
D - Troy Chavez, Mars Hill
D - Gui Andrade, Wingate
D - Chris Wilson, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK - Michael Watkins, Lincoln Memorial

Second Team
F - Stephen Bivens, Mars Hill
F - Emmanuel Aboagye, Carson-Newman
F - Fabricio Barancoski, Wingate
F - Chibuzo Nwosu, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF - Ryan Messick, Anderson
MF - Matt Craine, Carson-Newman
MF - Corey Faughnan, Catawba
MF - Chris Nash, Lincoln Memorial
D - Anthony Chiappetta, Carson-Newman
D - Corey McCollom
D - Domhnall Minogu, Catawba
D - Sean Rogers, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK - Zac Scott, Mars Hill