Aug. 9—MITCHELL — The Dakota Wesleyan University soccer teams were both picked to finish eighth in the Great Plains Athletic Conference this season, as the conference announced its preseason polls on Friday.

In the men’s preseason poll, the Tigers were picked to finish eighth out of 11 teams. Briar Cliff, the 2023 conference champions, are the league’s preseason pick, earning seven of 11 first-place votes. Concordia was picked second with 91 points and four first-place votes while Morningside was picked third. Northwestern and Hastings round out the top five, respectively. In 2023, Northwestern was the GPAC tournament champion, defeating Morningside 2-1.

DWU men’s soccer, which finished 7-9-1 overall last season, opens the regular season on Aug. 24 against Providence (Mont.) in Jamestown, ND, with their home opener scheduled for Sept. 7 against York (Neb.).

Picked eighth in the 12-team women’s division, the Tigers were 6-10-1 overall last season. Hastings is the preseason GPAC women’s soccer favorite with 10 of the 12 first-place votes. Concordia was picked second with 110 points and two first-place votes. Dordt was picked third and Morningside and Midland round out the top five. Midland won the 2023 GPAC tournament title with a 4-3 overtime win over Dordt.

DWU women’s soccer opens the season on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Bellevue (Neb.), with the home opener on Sept. 7 against York (Neb.).