BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University Bears are the pre-season pick to win the 2010 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men’s soccer championship in a vote of the league’s coaches.

Bridgewater State captured five first place votes to amass 60 points in taking the top spot in the poll, as the 2009 regular season champion Bears outdistanced second place Framingham State’s total of 53 points.  Framingham, which received two first place votes, is followed in the poll by Westfield State (50 points) and Salem State (42 points). Salem also picked up a first place vote.

Under the guidance of ninth year head coach, Brendan Adams, Bridgewater returns 11 players from the 2009 squad which posted a record of 9-5-3 including a 6-0-1 conference mark.  Adams, a two-time MASCAC Coach of the Year, has directed his teams to 74 wins over his first eight seasons as well as a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. 

Sophomore forward Simao Mendes (Brockton, Mass.), the 2009 MASCAC Rookie of the Year, is coming off a terrific freshman campaign as he notched eight goals and a team-leading seven assists a year ago.  Mendes earned all-conference first team honors and was selected as the Bridgewater State Rookie of the Year as well.

Mendes will look to lead an offensive unit which will be without three of its top four leading scorers from last season. 

Also returning to the starting lineup are senior defenders Pat Kenneally (Braintree, Mass.), Mark Vercollone (Pembroke, Mass.) and Mike White (Canton, Mass.), junior midfielder Dan Roberts (Braintree, Mass.) and sophomore midfielder Tucker Fairbanks (Plympton, Mass.). 

Roberts tallied a goal and three assists in 2009 and was an All-MASCAC First Team selection. Fairbanks recorded two goals and an assist while Kenneally and White notched three assists and two assists respectively while anchoring a strong defensive unit along with Vercollone.

Junior DJ Siewierski (Stow, Mass.), sophomore Patrick Bowlby (Stoughton, Mass.) and freshman Matt Bagley (Braintree, Mass.) will battle for the starting goaltending job.  Coach Adams will have some tough shoes to fill with the loss of two-time all-conference goaltender and 2008 MASCAC Player of the Year, Ryan Seifert.

Also returning to the Bears’ lineup after missing the 2009 season are junior forward Mike Fraser (Marshfield, Mass.) and junior midfielder Donald Flores (Cranston, R.I.).  Flores has appeared in 38 games over his first two seasons with four goals and nine assists to his credit, while Fraser has two goals and three assists in 31 career games.

Bridgewater will open the 2010 campaign on Monday, September 6th when the Bears host non-conference foe Endicott College at noon.