CORVALLIS, Ore. – After splitting the 2020 season into two divisions in the spring due to coronavirus, the 14 Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s soccer teams come back together to fight for the crown this fall.
Corban University picked up 10 of the 14 possible first-place votes to be named the preseason favorites in the 2021 CCC Men’s Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, released Friday. The Warriors won the 2020 West Division (6-1-1) and made their eighth-consecutive trip to the NAIA Championship Tournament. Corban finished the year with a 9-2-1 overall mark, looking to pick up where it left off less than four months ago.
Rocky Mountain College grabbed three first-place votes after winning the East Division in the spring with an unblemished 8-0 mark. The Battlin’ Bears advanced to the NAIA Championship tournament but lost in the first round.
Southern Oregon University sits in the third spot on the preseason poll, picking up 163 points. The Raiders have unfinished business as the coronavirus disrupted their spring 2020 campaign where SOU withdrew from division competition before the season was over.
Warner Pacific University has been heating up under 2020 CCC Coach of the Year Troy Ready and was just on the cusp of a postseason berth last season. The Knights finished the spring with a 7-3 divisional record in the West and earned the respect of fellow CCC teams, earning one first-place vote in the preseason poll and sitting fourth on the list with 144 points.
Oregon Tech follows in fifth place with 119 points, while Carroll College and the University of Providence sit tied for sixth with 109 points each. Eastern Oregon University is just two points off Carroll and UP with 107 points to hold in eighth, while Northwest University picked up 88 points for ninth.
The Evergreen State College (85 points) and the College of Idaho (78 points) return to the pitch after opting out of the spring and sit in 10
th and 11
th, respectively. Bushnell University follows in 12
th (39 points), while Multnomah University (13
th, 27 points) and Walla Walla University (14
th, 21 points) – also making its return to the field after opting out of the spring – round out the list.
The CCC conference season begins on Sept. 17, with the CCC Men’s Soccer Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, returning on Nov. 9 in Springfield, Ore. Due to the divisional split, the 2020 spring season did not have a tournament.
2021 CCC Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll
| Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Corban University (10) |
191 |
| 2. Rocky Mountain College (3) |
185 |
| 3. Southern Oregon University |
163 |
| 4. Warner Pacific University (1) |
144 |
| 5. Oregon Tech |
119 |
| T-6. Carroll College |
109 |
| T-6. University of Providence |
109 |
| 8. Eastern Oregon University |
107 |
| 9. Northwest University |
88 |
| 10. The Evergreen State College |
85 |
| 11. College of Idaho |
78 |
| 12. Bushnell University |
39 |
| 13. Multnomah University |
27 |
| 14. Walla Walla University |
21 |
