Evan Marinofsky | NCAA.com | August 4, 2021 Men's college soccer rankings: Marshall leads preseason Top 25 Watch Jamil Roberts' 3 straight game-winners from Marshall soccer's title run Share Marshall stunned the NCAA DI men's soccer world with its national championship run last season, winning the title as an unseeded team. This year, a title won't be nearly as surprising, as it ranks No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. No. 1 Marshall finished last season with a record of 13-2-3. What was more impressive was how hot it got around the College Cup. After a 2-1 OT win over Fordham in the second round, the Thundering Herd upset then-No. 1 Clemson, holding the Tigers to a 1-1 game and then winning on penalty kicks. TITLE THRILLER: Watch the highlights from Marshall's win over Indiana in the Final Marshall won its final three games all by scores of 1-0 and all with game-winning goals from senior Jamil Roberts, who capped off his college career with an electrifying, OT-winner in the final. While Roberts is gone, Vitor Dias will headline Marshall's roster. Dias led the Thundering Herd with 19 points last season and took home the 2020 Conference USA Player of the Year award. RANK SCHOOL TOTAL POINTS PREVIOUS 1 Marshall (22) 594 1 2 Indiana 569 2 3 Pitt (1) 555 3 4 North Carolina 510 4 5 Georgetown 488 5 6 Clemson (1) 476 7 7 Wake Forest 464 6 8 Stanford 435 10 9 Washington 424 8 10 Seton Hall 389 9 11 Penn State 343 11 12 Missouri State 317 12 13 UCF 293 13 14 Kentucky 261 16 15 Virginia Tech 247 15 16 Oregon State 223 18 17 Loyola Marymount 206 17 18 Charlotte 183 20 19 Marquette 177 14 20 New Hampshire 164 19 21 James Madison 132 21 22 Grand Canyon 80 25 23 Fordham 67 22 24 High Point 58 23 25 Coastal Carolina 38 24 Indiana, which lost to Marshall in the final as the No. 3 seed, enters this season ranked No. 2. Pittsburgh and North Carolina were both bounced in last season's semifinals, but maintain their respective No. 3 and 4 rankings from the final poll. Georgetown rounds out the Top 5. Clemson, which started the NCAA tournament as the No. 1-ranked team, slots in at No. 6, but it did receive a first-place vote. Marshall had 22 of the 24 first-place votes; Pittsburgh received one. Marshall opens its season on the road against James Madison on Thursday, Aug. 26 at 7:30 pm. Indiana's first match is at Notre Dame at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 27. PROP approves changes to soccer overtime rules Overtime will not be played in the regular season, and sudden-victory format will be eliminated in postseason. READ MORE 10 memorable NCAA DII sports moments from fall 2021 The much-awaited return to NCAA DII fall sports certainly didn't disappoint. First time champions, upsets galore and record-setting runs highlight the first half of the 2021-22 athletics year. READ MORE Washington defeats Saint Louis, the last remaining undefeated DI men's college soccer team Saint Louis was the last remaining undefeated NCAA men's soccer teams in the 2021 season. We tracked the Billikens' season and their run to the College Cup. READ MORE