LANCASTER, PA – The Johns Hopkins men's soccer team has been picked to win the Centennial Conference in a preseason vote of the league's head coaches. The Blue Jays grabbed eight first-place votes and 79 total points. This is the fifth straight year that Hopkins is the top team in the Centennial Conference preseason poll.
 
Franklin & Marshall is second in the poll with one first-place vote and 72 points. Muhlenberg earned the other first-place vote and garnered 58 points to sit in third place. Gettysburg (57 points) and Washington College (56) round out the top-five. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own team.
 
Hopkins advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals a year ago with a 15-1-8 record. The Blue Jays fell in a shootout in the Centennial Conference Championship in 2022. Hopkins returns eight starters and seven of its top-eight goal scorers from a year ago.
 
JHU opens the season on Friday, September 1 versus NC Wesleyan at the Mary Washington Tournament. Game time is slated for a 1:00 pm start.
 
2023 Centennial Conference Preseason Poll
1. Johns Hopkins (8) – 79 points
2. Franklin & Marshall (1) – 72 points
3. Muhlenberg (1) – 58 points
4. Gettysburg – 57 points
5. Washington College – 56 points
6. Dickinson – 40 points
7. Swarthmore – 33 points
8T. Haverford – 21 points
      McDaniel – 21 points
10. Ursinus – 13 points