Women's Soccerhttp://www.mvc-sports.com/wsoccer/news/ ... duQpPZVikoLoyola picked 6th. It'll be hard to replace a lot of experience from last year's 4th place team that seemed to underperform except against better competition. Evansville has a loaded team, is hosting the conference tournament, and is predicted to win the league with recent powerhouse Illinois State having lost many key players to graduation. My pick: Loyola 5th.
Men's Soccerhttp://cdn.streamlinetechnologies.com/m ... elease.pdfLoyola picked 3rd. This is the year when this team should mature into a squad that can challenge for the league title. Behind the reigning MVC Goaltender of the Year, key seniors, and impressive underclassmen coming back with a full year of experience, the Ramblers should contend. SIUE is picked to repeat, and hosts the conference tournament. My pick: Loyola 1st-- will still need to upset SIUE in Edwardsville to reach NCAA.
Women's Volleyballhttp://cdn.streamlinetechnologies.com/m ... elease.pdfLoyola picked 7th, which would miss the conference tournament for the third consecutive year. Women's volleyball is perhaps the MVC sport where there is the biggest step up in competition from the Horizon League, even more than men's basketball. Loyola needs to start beating the top league teams (Wichita State, UNI, and a rotating crop of other contenders) and winning tougher matches on the road to break into the top 6 to compete at the league tournament. My pick: Loyola 7th.