The East Coast Conference announced the results of the 2026 Men's Soccer Preseason Poll with Molloy coming in sixth-place and earning 39 points. 

Queens took the first-place spot with 80 points, including eight first-place votes while Roberts Wesleyan came in second with 71 points and the remaining first-place vote. Mercy (56 points), St. Thomas Aquinas (54 points), and District of Columbia (44 points) followed ahead of the Lions in sixth-place. D'Youville (30 points), Staten Island (20 points) and Daemen (11 points) rounded out the poll.

Queens also took home both the Preseason Offensive (sophomore Bradyn Brown) and Defensive (senior Tommy Wagner) Player of the Year awards, respectively.

The Lions, who went 3-7-7 in 2025, earned the six-seed in the ECC Tournament and will enter 2026 with something to prove following a 3-1 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in the First Round. Returning 17 players from last year's squad, Molloy is also reinforced with 11 fresh faces on the pitch as well as John Fitzgerald at the helm for his first season with the program.

Molloy will start the campaign on the road with matches at both Saint Anselm College (August 27) and Caldwell University (September 2). The home slate begins September 5 against Assumption at 1:00 p.m. In total, seven of the 16 regular season games will be played on the turf of the Rockville Centre Sports Complex. The Lions will begin ECC play at home on September 19 against Daemen at 12:00 p.m. and will round out the regular season at home against Mercy on October 24 at 12:00 p.m.

The 2026 ECC Men's Soccer Championship will take place over three dates with the first round beginning October 29, the semifinal on November 1, and the championship taking place at the highest remaining seed on November 8.