Irvine Valley's men's soccer team has been ranked No. 13 in the preseason national 2018 Junior College Division III poll by the United Soccer Coaches.
The Lasers finished the fall 2017 season ranked 13th in the nation after ending with a record of 12-5-5 overall and 9-2-3 in the Orange Empire Conference.
Irvine Valley reached the second round of the CCCAA Southern California Regionals and dropped a tough match to top-seeded Mt. SAC, 4-2, in penalty kicks.
IVC is ranked No. 8 among teams from California in this year's preseason poll.
Genesee Community College in New York is the top-ranked team in the poll.
Fresno City is second with Cerritos at No. 3. Fresno City won the CCCAA state title a year ago.
Other teams from California include Taft at No. 6, Mt. San Antonio at seventh, Santa Barbara City at No. 9, West Valley at 11th, Hartnell at No. 12, Irvine Valley at 13th, Los Positas at No. 16, Skyline at 18th and City College of San Francisco at No. 20.
Irvine Valley returns all-Orange Empire Conference midfielder Kristian Sabatino, along with forwards Daniel Segal, Grant Joyce and Julian Anaya, midfielders Alexis Campos, Sergio Montes and Marco Peccolo and a strong recruiting class.
The Lasers kick off the season on Saturday, Aug. 25, playing at nationally-ranked Yavapai in Arizona.
IVC is then on the road for a non-conference game at Rio Hondo on Aug. 28 and plays in the always tough Hartnell Tournament Aug. 31-Sept. 2.
Irvine Valley's first home match of the season is on Tuesday, Sept. 4 against El Camino at 1 p.m.
You can see the full United Soccer Coaches 2018 Junior Dollege Division III poll here
