FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Graduate student Thomas Drillien earned a berth to the 2024 All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Preseason Men's Soccer Team as the organization announced its annual preseason poll and honors this morning. Drillien secured a spot at the forward position, one of 11 picks on the preseason squad. The Stags men's soccer team collected the seventh slot in the preseason coaches' poll, garnering one first-place vote and 85 points overall.

Drillien returns to the Fairfield University men's soccer program already ranking among the program's top goal scorers heading into the 2024 campaign. The forward boasts 15 career goals through his first four years, including a career-best seven in his sophomore season. Last year, Drillien placed second among his teammates with 10 total points, garnering four goals and two assists to represent one of the Stags' two double-digit scorers in 2023. William Pierce led all Fairfield scorers with 13 points off six goals and an assist to complete the pair. Drillien needs six more points this season to break into Fairfield's top ten career scoring list.

The Stags' placement puts the team in the middle of the 13-team ranking with the MAAC expanding this year due to the arrival of Sacred Heart University and Merrimack College into conference play. Iona College holds the top spot in the MAAC Preseason Poll with 160 points and seven first-place votes, followed by Rider University's 146 points and three top picks. Manhattan College rounds out the top three with its 137 points, receiving the remaining two first-place selections. Siena College holds down the fourth-place position with 132 points, followed by Marist (112 points) and Quinnipiac University (99 points).

The remainder of the poll includes Niagara University (79 points), Sacred Heart University (61), Saint Peter's University (50), Merrimack College (43), Mount St. Mary's University (42), and Canisius University (32). 

The Fairfield University men's soccer team, under first-year Head Coach Krystian Witkowski, opens the 2024 season at Monmouth University on August 23 with a 7 pm start. After heading to Fairleigh Dickinson University on August 26, the Stags will open the home portion of their schedule on Saturday, August 31 by hosting Lafayette College at Lessing Field. Game time is 7 pm.