Christopher Newport was voted conference favorites atop the 2022 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Men's Soccer Preseason Poll. The Captains collected 64 points and eight first-place votes to lead the rankings. 

Mary Washington earned one first-place vote and 56 points to finish second. C2C associate member Wisconsin-Whitewater received 49 points to place them third in the rankings while UC Santa Cruz sits fourth with 39 points. C2C's newest associate member Wisconsin-Platteville earned 36 points while Salisbury received 34 points for the fifth and sixth positions.

Finlandia is positioned in seventh with 22 points while Pratt collected 13 points for the eighth spot. C2C newcomer Warren Wilson College rounds out the rankings with 11 points.

The 2022 season kicks off the first week of September with the C2C Men's Soccer Championship, a 6-team tournament, being hosted by Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md. on November 3, 4 & 6. 

Below is a brief preview of each team entering the 2022 season: 

#1 Christopher Newport: Christopher Newport finished out the 2021 season ranked No. 11 in the final United Soccer Coaches Top 25 after putting together an exceptional run against one of the toughest schedules in the nation that concluded in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16. The Captains captured the team's first conference title since 2016 and finished the year with a 12-5-2 overall record. Heading into 2022, the Captains return Chris Schram and Owen Burnett on the offensive end while Conference Tournament MVP Jonathan Leiding and Jacob Dudley are back to lead the defense. 

#2 Mary Washington: Mary Washington welcomes a large incoming class to bolster a squad that has advanced to the past five conference championship games. Reigning C2C Offensive Player of the Year Josh Kirkland and All-Conference forward Carter Berg return on offense, with all-C2C standouts Abel Luwis and Jacob Kautzman will also be looked upon for continued outstanding play.

#3 Wisconsin-Whitewater:  The 2022 Warhawks roster will primarily be intact from last season's squad that scored 56 goals on the season while averaging 2.55 goals-per-game and reaching the C2C Semifinals. Among UW-Whitewater's returners is standout sophomore forward Jacob Mouille who led the team in 2021 with nine goals and four assists. Forward Matthew Waters also returns for his senior season after scoring four goals and four assists a year ago.

#4 UC Santa Cruz: Nineteen players return from the 2021 squad that made the C2C Semifinals, including the top five scorers. In defense, Arman Salimi had 28 saves and a 1.79 GAA in his debut season between the sticks. Towering Defender Will Barba led the team in minutes, as well as scoring three goals from his central defensive position. Midfielder Itay Rabinovich, who played in Israel this summer on the USA team at Maccabiah Games, led the team in 2021 with four assists.

#5 Wisconsin-Platteville:  The University of Wisconsin-Platteville enters its first season as part of the C2C led by head coach Sam Koenig (4th year, 21-13-5 ) who took the 2021 Pioneers to a 13-5-2 record. UW-Platteville returns 20 letter-winners along with all 11 starters from a year ago, including forward Jack Gentilli, who was an All-Wisconsin selection, Co-Offensive Player of the Year, and USC All-Region third team honoree. Lucas Godon will flank Gentilli on the attacking end, while a pair of All-Wisconsin Selections in Konrad Ziaja and Lucas Schoenberg patrol the midfield with defender Clayton Lautenschlager and All-Wisconsin goalkeeper Chase Werner anchoring the defense. 


#6 Salisbury: With a home C2C Tournament to look forward to, the Sea Gulls open the Zack MacDougall era aiming to build on a team that had 12 of its 16 games in 2021 decided by two goals or fewer. Sophomores Brady Young and Owen Peters were named First-Team All-C2C at midfield and defense, respectively, during stellar freshman seasons. SU also returns Second-Team All-C2C junior attacker Conner Appleby after an excellent sophomore campaign.

#7 Finlandia: Finn U looks to be offensive with five of the top seven scorers back on the pitch. Lions' top player is sophomore Mohamed Koroma who scored 17 goals with four assists for 38 points which earned him C2C Rookie of the Year honors.

#8 Pratt: The Cannoneers look to rebuild from its 2021 performance by returning sophomore standout midfielder Spencer Giuliano, who led the team in minutes played last season. Sophomore goalkeeper Carter Tillman will step in to fill the void of Carter Boliek with returner Jacob Hamilton to lead the defense in his senior seasons.

#9 Warren Wilson: The men's soccer team is excited to join the C2C and eager to make their debut. With 10 new players coming in, it is going to be an exciting time and a bunch of new faces to the squad. The team is ready to get going and put in the work to be successful in their first conference season with C2C.