Published: August 28, 2008 04:00 am         

Hartwick men's soccer expected to finish fourth

The Mid-American Conference selected Hartwick College to finish fourth in men's soccer this season, the Hawks announced Wednesday.

Akron, ranked 12th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas preseason poll, earned the top spot in the MAC's preseason rankings, which were released by the conference office Tuesday. Northern Illinois and Buffalo round out the top three.

Hartwick, which finished 5-6-7 in its first season affiliated with the MAC last fall, is followed by Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic and Western Michigan. Hartwick went 2-1-2 in MAC play last season, which ended with a 1-0 loss to Buffalo in a conference tournament semifinal.

The Hawks begin the 2008 season under sixth-year head coach Ian McIntyre _ a 1996 Hartwick graduate _ at 1 p.m. Friday in the opening round of the Loyola College of Maryland Black and Decker Classic. Hartwick opens against Drexel University, which returns 10 starters from an 11-5-3 team that earned a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title last season.

Hartwick then plays the host Greyhounds at 2 p.m. Sunday. Loyola won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship last year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Maryland in a penalty-kick shootout. The Greyhounds finished 19-3-1 in 2007 and feature four players who received preseason All-MAAC first-team honors this year.

Forward John Paul Boyle returns for his senior season after earning first-team all-MAC and second-team all-region accolades last year. Senior defender Liam Parrington, a conference second-teamer and first-team all-region pick last year, also returns, as does sophomore midfielder Steven Amaya, a MAC second-teamer in 2007.

McIntyre is 90-55-21 as a head coach, including a 54-27-14 mark as Hartwick's leader for the past five seasons.