SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Susquehanna University men's soccer team has been picked to finish fourth in the Commonwealth Conference during the upcoming season, according to the league's eight head coaches.

The Crusaders finished fourth in the league last season to qualify for the postseason for the first time in the program's 45-year history, ending the season with an 8-10-1 overall record and 4-3 in the conference.

Seventh-year head coach Jim Findlay , the 2003 Commonwealth Conference Coach of the Year, has eight starters returning from last year's squad including conference Co-Rookie of the Year Nate Snyder , who led the team with seven goals and 19 points as a freshman, and second-team All-Conference defender Billy Morgan .

Four-time defending playoff champion Messiah received five first-place votes to earn the top spot in the poll, followed by Elizabethtown, Moravian, Susquehanna, Lebanon Valley, Widener, Juniata, and Albright. Elizabethtown received two first-place votes while Moravian captured the remaining first-place vote.

The top four teams in the standings will compete in the conference playoffs for the league title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer tournament.

The Crusaders open the 2004 season on Wednesday, September 1 at Scranton, kick off home action on the new Sassafras Fields on Friday, September 10 in the annual Battle of the Boot game against Lycoming, and begin their Commonwealth Conference schedule on Saturday, September 18 against visiting Moravian.