SELINSGROVE, Pa. - The Susquehanna University men's soccer team has been picked to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Commonwealth Conference during the upcoming season, as selected by the league's eight coaches.

The Crusaders, who finished fifth last fall with a 3-4 league record, won four of their last five games to finish the 2000 season with a 7-9-1 overall record. Four of their nine losses came in overtime, including a 3-2 setback to eventual NCAA Division III champion Messiah.

Messiah, which finished 22-2-1 overall last fall, received four first-place votes to earn the top spot in the coaches' survey, followed by Elizabethtown and Moravian. Lebanon Valley, which earned the fourth and final playoff spot in the conference last season, is tied with the Crusaders for fourth in the preseason poll.

The Crusaders open the 2001 season on Saturday, September 1 at home against Marywood beginning at noon.