WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Monmouth University men have been selected to finish tied for second place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason poll, the league announced Tuesday afternoon.
Sophomore forward Julian Gomez (Fairview, NJ/St. Benedict’s), sophomore forward Ben Zakowski (Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock), sophomore midfielder Luke McBeth (Glasgow, Scotland/Saint Ninians/Lindenwood), and fifth year defender George Akampeke (Bolgatanga, Ghana/Bolgatanga) were named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
After being picked eighth in last spring’s preseason poll, the Hawks won the 2020-21 MAAC Championship and defeated Bowling Green University in the first round of the NCAA Division I Tournament. In a must-win regular season finale at Niagara Univeristy, Monmouth erased a 3-1 halftime deficit to earn a 4-3 extratime win. As the No. 6 seed, the Hawks defeated No. 3 Niagara University, No. 2 Rider University, and No. 1 Quinnipiac University, all on the road, for the title.
The team then made history with the first regulation win in the NCAA Tournament. All 11 starters return from last season.
Preseason Poll Results
1. Quinnipiac – 115 (7)
t-2. Fairfield – 96 (1)
t-2. Monmouth – 96 (3)
4. Rider – 89
5. Marist – 71
6. Iona – 59
7. Niagara – 55
8. Saint Peter’s – 48
9. Manhattan – 46
10. Siena – 33
11. Canisius – 18
All-MAAC Team
Preseason Player of the Year – Brage Aasen, Quinnipiac
Forward
Brage Aasen, Quinnipiac
Julian Gomez, Monmouth
Tomas Svecula, Quinnipiac
Ben Zakowski, Monmouth
Midfield
Luke McBeth, Monmouth
Paulo Soares, Quinnipiac
Francisco Gomez Olano, Rider
Back
George Akampeke, Monmouth
Luke Allen, Quinnipiac
Cormac Pike, Fairfield
Henry Weigand, Quinnipiac
Goalie
Jared Mazzola, Quinnipiac