NEWTOWN, Pa. — The Middle Atlantic Conference office today released preseason polls for the upcoming Men's Soccer season. MAC Commonwealth coaches picked Eastern University Men's Soccer to finish fifth.

That spot matches the Eagles' finish from 2024. After dropping their first two matches in the league to Messiah and York, the Eagles went unbeaten in their next four. A pair of draws in that stretch put the Eagles into an elimination match at Widener. After falling behind by two early, the Eagles drew level. Knowing a tie would not move them into the post-season, the Eagles threw numbers forward. Widener took advantage of that space and scored a pair of late goals to secure the third spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament.

Eastern returns a significant core of player's from last-year's squad and hope that the experience gained in last year's MAC Commonwealth push will enable the Eagles to make a step forward to secure a spot in the post-season tournament.

League coaches picked the six-time defending champion Messiah Falcons to finish first and York to finish second. The Spartans fell 2-1 in last season's MAC Commonwealth Championship match. Widener and Alvernia were picked third and fourth

Head Coach Luca Mellor and his squad will start the season at Delaware Valley on Aug. 30 and will begin play in the MAC Commonwealth with an important road test at Hood before hosting Messiah and traveling to York. Starting with a Wednesday test against Stevenson on Oct. 22, Eastern plays three of its final four matches at home. The only road test in that stretch is at Albright on Oct. 28.

If the Eagles can move up one position, they would secure a spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament for the first time since joining the league in 2021. Eastern's last MAC Tournament game was a 3-1 MAC Freedom Championship game win over King's College in 2019.

The top four teams in the MAC Commonwealth regular season will qualify for the Championship Tournament. The winner of the Tournament will secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That format will change in 2026 when the league adds Neumann University, a ninth team, and goes back to a five-team tournament.