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GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Virginia Tech men’s soccer team was picked to finish fifth in the Coastal Division for the second straight year as the preseason poll was released by the Atlantic Coast Conference Thursday morning.

The Hokies are coming off a season in which they finished 7-8-1 overall, 2-5-1 in conference play and fifth in the Coastal. The team earned the No. 9 seed for the ACC Championship where they lost to No. 8 Virginia in the Quarterfinals. From that squad, a majority of the key players will return, particularly on the offensive end. Of the 19 goals scored last season, players who are returning scored 17 of them.

Tech received 26 points overall in the poll, which is voted on by the league's 12 head coaches, and was the ninth-most out of the 12-team league. The ACC will play its second season under the divisional format in which the winner of each division will be guaranteed one of the top two seeds for the ACC Tournament.

The Hokies will play the other five Coastal Division members as well as three crossover opponents from the Atlantic Division. The crossover opponents this season are Boston College, Louisville and Clemson.

Defending national champion Virginia is picked to win the 2015 ACC Championship over defending ACC Champion Clemson. Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina and Notre Dame all finished with two votes as the overall champion.

Virginia Tech will start the season on Aug. 28 as they host the University of North Carolina at Greensboro at 8:30 p.m. at Thompson Field.

2015 ACC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll

(First place votes)

Overall Champion

Virginia (4)

Clemson (2)

Louisville (2)

North Carolina (2)

Notre Dame (2)

Atlantic Division

Coastal Division

For updates on Virginia Tech men's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MSoccer