St. Louis – For the second straight year, Missouri State men's soccer has been selected as the team to finish atop the rankings as the MVC coaches' preseason poll was announced by the league on Thursday (Aug. 22).

"Our team is excited to get the season under way and compete in such a competitive conference," says head coach Jon Leamy.  "We are working hard in practice to accomplish our goals and, hopefully, by the end of the season we will fulfill our expectations."

The preseason all-conference team was announced alongside the poll and the Bears landed three players on the list.  Josh Dolling, Kyle Hiebert, and Ben Stroud earned preseason honors for MSU, joining Drake as the only conference teams to have three players selected.

Dolling led the conference last season in goals scored with 10 and in individual scoring with 23 points.  He was named to the MVC All-Conference First Team and to the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Second Team.  He earned MVC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance during the week of Sept. 9, highlighted by a hat-trick against Santa Clara.

Hiebert played a key role for the Bears' defense that led the conference in fewest goals allowed (13) and goals against average (0.70) the past two seasons.  He received MVC All-Conference Second Team and United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Third Team honors last season.  Hiebert was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team and the United Soccer Scholar All-American Third Team in 2018.

Stroud earns back-to-back preseason all-conference honors after helping anchor the Bears' back line.  He played in 16 games for MSU as a junior, scoring his first career goal in the MVC semifinal game.  Last season, he earned United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Second Team honors and was selected to the MVC All-Conference Second Team for the second straight year.  Stroud was tabbed MVC Defensive Player of the Week after helping secure back-to-back shutouts for the Bears during the week of Oct. 1.

"Josh, Kyle, and Ben are deserving recipients for the preseason team," says Leamy.  "It's always good to be recognized for your hard work.  We just have to continue to get better every day as a team."

MSU received 32 overall points, including four first-place votes, to earn the top ranking in the preseason poll.  The Bears were 2-2-2 in conference play last season and beat Evansville in the first round of the MVC Tournament before falling to eventual champion, Central Arkansas, in the semifinals.   

The Bears kick off the regular season at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium with a matchup against Kansas City on Friday, Aug. 29 at 7:00 p.m. 

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