LA MIRADA, Calif. --- In a 2017 campaign that saw the Biola Eagles finish the season with a two-game winning streak and a sixth-place finish in conference, the word that surrounded the PacWest's newest member was unknown.

This year the word that might ring in the Eagles' locker room is underestimated, as Biola was projected to finish seventh out of 12 teams in the coaches' preseason poll released by the PacWest Conference office on Tuesday.

The Eagles only suffered losses in 2017 to two of the teams chosen ahead of them in the 2018 poll: once to Fresno Pacific on the road and once in overtime to a Point Loma team that went on to qualify for the NCAA West Regionals. Point Loma was chosen as the preseason favorite with nine first-place votes and 128 points in the poll while the Sunbirds were ranked fourth.

Biola also fought its way to well-earned ties last season against Concordia and Notre Dame De Namur, the No. 2 and No.3 teams, and earned victories against No. 5 Azusa Pacific, No. 6 Hawaii Pacific and four other teams in the poll ranked below the Eagles.

Along with the preseason rankings, the PacWest released a preseason All-PacWest team on Tuesday that included Biola's senior midfielder Kousei Mattox. Mattox was one of four midfielders on the 15-man roster and was chosen for his ability to control the midfield and win the ball for his team.  He is coming off a third team All-PacWest selection in 2017 and will serve as as one of Biola's captain in the team's second NCAA DII season along with senior Parker Setran.

The PacWest will go without a defending conference champion in 2018 after California Baptist University jumped to NCAA DI following the 2017-18 athletic year. With fifth-place Dixie State also leaving the conference, the top tier of the conference table is wide open for a team like Biola to become a perennial power.

Grand Canyon University was the last conference champion to leave the PacWest and not defend its men's soccer title. The very next season Azusa Pacific built on a fifth-place finish to finish in a tie for the 2013 conference title, setting a precedent for Biola to follow in a similar suit after a 7-5-1 conference mark last year.

The Eagles begin their non-conference schedule on Thursday Aug. 30 when they travel to La Jolla to face UC San Diego at 7:00 p.m. Biola's first home match will be on Saturday Sept. 8 against CSU San Bernardino.  

RANK	TEAM	POINTS
1.	Point Loma (9)	141
2.	Concordia-Irvine (2)	128
3.	Notre Dame de Namur (1)	118
4.	Fresno Pacific	103
5.	Azusa Pacific	95
6.	Hawaii Pacific	80
7.	Biola	77
8.	Chaminade	51
9.	Dominican	47
10.	Academy of Art	46
11.	Holy Names	26
12.	Hawaii Hilo	24

COMPLETE PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST TEAM
   

NAME	SCHOOL	POSITION
Wiktor LaSota	Point Loma	GK
Bruno Brumati	Fresno Pacific	D
Moises Claudio	NDNU	D
Jacob Eisenberg	Point Loma	D
Matias Rodriguez	Point Loma	D
Gerritt Arzberger	Hawaii Pacific	M
Kousei Mattox	Biola	M
Aleksander Pumpalovic	Azusa Pacific	M
Anthony Velarde	Fresno Pacific	M
Arturo Astorga	Azusa Pacific	F
Indiana Fuller	Point Loma	F
Connor Gordon	Concordia	F
Naia Graham	NDNU	F