Bryant picked seventh by NEC coaches in preseason poll

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's soccer team was selected seventh by the coaches of the Northeast Conference in the league's annual preseason poll, the conference announced Tuesday. The Bulldogs are coming off a sixth-place finish in a tight conference race last year that had third through seventh place separated by just three points.

Bryant went unbeaten in their final three home games of 2017, winning a pair and drawing their Senior Day contest with Central Connecticut and will be looking to bring that home momentum into 2018 where they will have seven contests at the Bulldog Soccer Field.

Now-sophomore James Cochrane (Sandy Hook, Conn.) will be emerging as a leader in the Bulldogs defense that finished the 2017 campaign with a 1.12 goals-against average, good for second in the NEC. Another sophomore, Matthew Kane (Lincoln, R.I.), saw action in nine of Bryant's final 11 games last season and will be back again alongside Cochrane on the Bulldogs' back line.

Up top, Bryant returns a pair of forwards back for their sophomore campaigns, with Jared Lee (South Setauket, N.Y.) and Anthony Barreira (Foxboro, Mass.) coming back to the Black and Gold this season. The attack is also helped by incoming sophomore Antonio Terceros (Toronto, Ontario), who joins the Bulldogs from Holy Cross for the 2018 calendar, which kicks off on August 24 against Howard.

For an inside look and up to date information on the Bryant Men's Soccer program, be sure to follow their social media pages on Twitter and Instagram.

FULL NEC MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL

1) St. Francis Brooklyn (8 - unanimous)
2) LIU Brooklyn
3) Fairleigh Dickinson
4) Saint Francis U
5) Central Connecticut
6) Robert Morris
7) Bryant
8) Mount St. Mary's
9) Sacred Heart