SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Thursday, August 25

UMass at Northeastern (FloFC).............................. 1 p.m.

William & Mary at George Washington (ESPN+) 1 p.m.

Stony Brook at LIU (NEC Front Row)..................... 2 p.m.

Drexel vs NJIT ¹........................................................... 4 p.m.

UNCW at American (ESPN+)................................... 4 p.m.

²⁵ St. John’s at Monmouth (FloFC)..................... 7 p.m.

Mount St. Mary’s at Delaware (FloFC).................. 7 p.m.

Fordham at Hofstra (FloFC)..................................... 7 p.m.

Friday, August 26

Elon vs Milwaukee ².................................................. 5 p.m.

Charleston at UAB (ESPN+)..................................... 8 p.m. 

Sunday, August 28

Drexel vs Binghamton ¹......................................... 12 p.m.

Elon vs San Diego ²................................................. 12 p.m.

Charleston vs Memphis ³................................ 12:30 p.m.

Coastal Carolina at William & Mary (FloFC)......... 4 p.m.

UNCW at UNCG (ESPN+).......................................... 7 p.m.

Monday, August 29

Northeastern at Boston College (ACCNX)............ 5 p.m.

Saint Peter’s at Stony Brook (FloFC)..................... 6 p.m.

Rhode Island at Hofstra (FloFC)............................. 7 p.m.

Loyola Maryland at Delaware (FloFC)................... 7 p.m.

1 - Harrisonburg, Va.

2 - Durham, N.C.

3 - Birmingham, Ala.

WEEKLY AWARDS – First Awards Aug. 29

NEWS AND NOTES

HOFSTRA RACKS UP PRESEASON HONORS

Hofstra was the unanimous selection of the league’s other head coaches to repeat as CAA champions. Hendrik Hebbeker was selected as CAA Preseason Player of the Year and named a Preseason All-America selection along with teammate Ryan Carmichael.

The Pride is No. 17 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 18 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings entering the season.

UNCW, Elon, Northeastern, and Drexel were ranked second through fifth and separated by eight points.

WELCOME!

Stony Brook and Monmouth both make their debuts as CAA members on Thursday. The Seawolves will travel to LIU and Monmouth hosts St. John’s as part of an eight-game opening night slate. It was announced earlier in August that Campbell - No. 25 in the preseason United Soccer Coaches poll - will join the CAA for the 2023 season.

NEW YORK’S NUMBER ONE... AND THE NATION’S

Hofstra finished the year with a nation-leading 56 goals and 170 points.

The 56 goals were one better than Campbell for the top spot nationally, tied for 13th in CAA history, and the most by a CAA team since James Madison scored 66 and William & Mary tallied 63 in 1996. 

Hofstra’s 170 points were two ahead of that same Campbell side ... The total ranked third in CAA history and was the best mark since James Madison recorded 172 in 1995.

RESUME WORKSHOP

The CAA finished the year as the nation’s No. 6 conference in RPI in 2021, with Hofstra’s No. 8 ranking leading three teams in the top 50 and six in the top 70. 

The CAA was eighth in opponent strength of schedule and seventh in road success, while the conference’s 80-62-14 record ranked fifth. 

CAA vs. ACC

The CAA picked up three wins and a draw against the ACC in 2021.

UNCW defeated North Carolina and earned a draw vs. Virginia, while William & Mary downed NC State and James Madison knocked off Virginia.

TURNAROUND IN BROOKLINE

Months removed from being held without a victory in the 2020-21 spring season, Northeastern recorded its winningest year in nearly a decade.

Northeastern posted its first 10-win season since the 14-3-4 campaign in 2012 that saw the Huskies advance to the NCAA Second Round.

TEAM NOTES

CHARLESTON

•   The Cougars will play 11 contests in the Palmetto State in 2022 after an opening weekend trip to Birmingham to face UAB and Memphis.

•   Charleston picked up a quartet of non-conference victories against foes from the Carolinas last fall and returns three of its top five scorers.

DELAWARE

•   The Blue Hens will play 11 home matches in Newark this fall, including two in the season’s first five days against Mount St. Mary’s and Loyola Maryland.

•   Delaware enters its first season under head coach Tommy McMenemy looking to return to the form of a Blue Hens side that made CAA Championship appearances in 2018 and 2019.

DREXEL

•   The Dragons make a trip to familiar territory in Harrisonburg for two neutral-site matches to begin the 2022 season.

• Drexel collected a first-place vote from the coaches this August after making it to the CAA semifinals in 2021. The Dragons, who did not allow more than two goals in regulation in a game last fall, placed Daniel Nesseler and Youri Senden on the preseason All-CAA team. 

ELON

•   The Phoenix will open 2022 in Durham for a pair of neutral-site matches.

•   Elon advanced to its first CAA final in 2021 as the Phoenix played 14 of its 19 contests to a margin of one goal or less with an 8-4-2 mark in those matches. The Phoenix returns two preseason All-CAA selections on the back line in Kasper Lehm and Jannik Videbaek.

^17/18 HOFSTRA

•   The Pride placed four players – Hebbeker, Ryan Carmichael, Mason Tatafu, and Wessel Speel – on the preseason All-CAA team.

•   Hofstra went 18-2-2 in a stellar campaign last fall that included a CAA Championship in front of the home crowd on Long Island. The Pride advanced to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament after dispatching Lipscomb in Hempstead and rolling to an 8-2 victory over Penn State in the Second Round – tied for the most goals in a single NCAA Tournament match since 1978.

MONMOUTH

•   The Hawks will receive the conference’s stiffest opening night test when St. John’s, receiving votes in the coaches’ poll and No. 25 in the media rankings, visits West Long Branch.

• Monmouth joins the CAA after winning two MAAC titles, including a Second Round NCAA Tournament appearance in 2020-21.

UNCW

•   The Seahawks begin the year with three straight on the road, including opening weekend contests at American and UNCG.

• UNCW aims to return to the CAA Championship in 2022 after narrowly missing out on November soccer last fall. The Seahawks, who tallied a win and a draw against ACC competition last fall, welcome back preseason All-CAA honoree Bachir Ndiaye in the midfield.

NORTHEASTERN

•   Northeastern will open the year against in-state foes UMass and Boston College.

• The Huskies recorded 51 assists as a team in 2022 – good for fifth in CAA history – received 13 of them from Federico Tellez, who earned preseason All-CAA honors along with Timothy Ennin.

STONY BROOK

•   Stony Brook takes a trip west on the LIE on Thursday to face LIU in its CAA debut.

•   The Seawolves, who split a pair of one-goal matches against CAA Championship teams a year ago, earned a CAA honorable mention nod courtesy of Jonas Bickus. 

WILLIAM & MARY

•   W&M begins the year with an opening night visit to George Washington.

•   The Tribe, which went 4-4 in CAA play in 2021, have preseason All-CAA honorees Alexander Levengood and Diba Nwegbo back for the fall in Williamsburg.