Southern Connecticut Preseason Video (Courtesy of Pack Network)

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South Easton, Mass. – Southern Connecticut State University received five first place votes as the Owls are picked to capture the Northeast-10 regular season title as determined by the conference’s nine head coaches. Southern Connecticut (8-3, 6-1 NE-10) received 76 points edging out last year’s regular season champion, American International College.

American International (9-2, 7-0 NE-10) received the remaining four first-place votes for a total of 72 points. Last season, the Yellow Jackets won their first ever NE-10 regular season title with a perfect 7-0 record in conference play.

Merrimack College (6-4, 4-3 NE-10) is picked to finish third in this year’s poll as the Warriors received 62 points, followed by Bentley University (5-6, 4-3 NE-10). The Falcons are selected to finish fourth after picking up 51 points. Stonehill College (4-6, 2-5 NE-10) appears next in the poll rounding out the top five with 43 points.

Pace University (4-6, 3-4 NE-10) collected 38 points as the Setters are picked to finish sixth, while Assumption College (1-9, 1-6 NE-10) is next with 25 points. Saint Anselm College (2-8, 1-6 NE-10) and the University of New Haven, round out the poll after receiving 21 and 17 points respectively. The Chargers are competing in the Northeast-10 for the first time in football this season and for the first time as an institution since 2003.

Last season the Northeast-10 had two teams appear in the NCAA Tournament as American International hosted Seton Hill and Southern Connecticut traveled to West Chester in First Round action. The Yellow Jackets hosted an NCAA game for the first time in school history.

The 2009 season kicks-off on Thursday, August 27 with Stonehill traveling to West Virginia to face Glenville State in an out of conference contest. Northeast-10 action begins on Friday, September 11 with four match ups slated for 7 p.m. starts and will feature American International at Stonehill, Saint Anselm at Bentley, New Haven at Assumption and Pace at Southern Connecticut.

For more information on the upcoming season and for continuous coverage all season long visit the Northeast-10 Conference website at www.northeast10.org.

With 16 member institutions the Northeast-10 shares the distinction of being the largest Division II conference in the country along with the PSAC and WVIAC. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

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2009 NE-10 Preseason Poll Results

1. Southern Connecticut (5) - 76
2. American Int'l (4) - 72
3. Merrimack - 62
4. Bentley - 51
5. Stonehill - 43
6. Pace - 38
7. Assumption - 25
8. Saint Anselm - 21
9. New Haven - 17

() - First Place Vote