The Valparaiso University men’s soccer team has been predicted to finish in a tie for third place in the Horizon League in 2010, as chosen by the league’s nine head coaches and announced by the League office today.

Each of the coaches ranked the teams one through eight, omitting their own squad from the voting.  Teams received eight points for a first-place vote down to one point for an eighth-place vote.

Butler was chosen atop the league standings, finishing with five first place votes and 61 total points, edging out Green Bay, which received the other four first place nods and 60 points.  The Crusaders and UIC tied for the third spot with 44 points apiece, while Loyola (33 pts.) and Cleveland State (32 pts.) followed in fifth and sixth, respectively.  Milwaukee (22 pts.), Wright State (19 pts.) and Detroit (9 pts.) rounded out the polling.

Valparaiso returns 17 letterwinners, including nine starters, from the 2009 squad that set a new school record for wins in a single season.  The Crusaders conclude preseason action with a scrimmage against their reserve side Saturday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. on Brown Field before beginning the regular season Sept. 4 at the UNLV Nike Invitational.