The CCAA men's soccer coaches are anticipating another highly-competitive season in one of the best men's soccer conferences in NCAA Division II. All 12 teams will lace up their cleats looking for the title in 2022, but defending National Champion Cal State LA is the preseason favorite after receiving after receiving 138 points and seven first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll.
 
 The Golden Eagles did not drop a match after Sept. 25 en route to the program's second consecutive championship appearance. They went unbeaten in their final 18 matches (16-0-2) to finish the season at 18-2-3 and 10-0-1 in conference play. Cal State LA has not lost a CCAA match since Oct. 18, 2018 (22-0-3), and they have collected two CCAA regular season championships in that time. This season, the Golden Eagles will return 2021 CCAA Goalkeeper of the Year, Alvaro Unanua, and many others that played critical minutes during the championship run.

 

2022 CCAA Men's Soccer Poll
1.	Cal State LA (7)	138
2.	Cal Poly Pomona (5)	134
3.	Cal State Dominguez Hills	114
4.	Cal State San Bernardino	104
5.	Chico State	80
6.	Cal Poly Humboldt	75
7.	Cal State Monterey Bay	74
8.	Sonoma State	70
9.	San Francisco State	51
10	Stanislaus State	42
11.	Cal State San Marcos	34
12.	Cal State East Bay	20
First-place votes in parenthesis

Cal Poly Pomona earned the five remaining first-place votes and placed second in the poll with 134 points. The only blemish on the Broncos' 2021 record (14-5-4) after Sept. 11 came against Cal State LA, as they lost to the Golden Eagles three times with championships on the line. They made a run to the NCAA Super Regional championship match and entered the 2022 season ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll. The Broncos will return seven starters, including 2021 CCAA Newcomer of the Year, Paul Henschke, to lead the Broncos up front. First team All-CCAA selection, Cesar Ruvalcaba, will return as a sophomore to hold down the backline.  
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills claimed the third spot in the polls with 114 points. The Toros were one of the surprises of 2021 when they finished fourth in the standings (10-6-1, 7-4-0 CCAA) and earned a win in the tournament after being picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference. CSUDH is one of only three teams with multiple student-athletes listed on the preseason watchlist (returning first or second team All-CCAA selections). They will bring back All-CCAA selections Sulaiman Bah at forward, Alpha Sowe at defender, and over 20 other letterwinners.
 
Cal State San Bernardino collected 104 points to finish fourth in the poll. The Yotes earned the No. 3 seed in last year's CCAA Tournament after posting a 7-2-2 record in conference play (10-5-3 overall). Jeronimo Valdepena will be one of just two returning starters for CSUSB. The 2021 CCAA All-Tournament selection leads a defense that ranked in the top 10 in the country in goals against average (seventh, .687) and shutout percentage (eighth, .500).
 
Ten points are all that separated the fifth through eighth spots in the poll. Chico State earned the No. 5 spot with 80 points, and Cal Poly Humboldt edged out Cal State Monterey Bay 75-74 for sixth. Sonoma State was picked eighth with 70 points.
 
The 2021 season was not up to traditional Chico State standards as the Wildcats went 6-12-0. Still, the Wildcats got their wins in the right spots and earned a bid to the CCAA Tournament with a victory in the season's final game against Cal Poly Humboldt. Liam Duerksen returns for his sophomore season. As a freshman, he ranked third in the CCAA with eight assists and earned second team All-CCAA honors.  
 
Cal Poly Humboldt brings back a pair of second team All-CCAA selections in defender Dylan Tovani and goalkeeper Adrian Gallardo. Last season, the Jacks went 10-5-2 and earned a spot in the top 25 early in the season. They will return nine starters from that team, including their entire backline, led by Tovani. Gallardo was one of the nation's best in net last year. He helped Humboldt rank sixth in the country in save percentage (.833) and 16th in shutout percentage (.471).
 
Cal State Monterey Bay is coming off an eighth-place finish in the 2021 standings. The Otters went 7-4-6 on the season and 3-4-4 in the CCAA. They were the conference's third-highest scoring team at 1.76 goals per game. The Otters will return six starters, including midfielder Miguel Guerrero who led the team last year in minutes played.  
 
Sonoma State (9-9-1, 5-5-1 CCAA) brings back seven starters, including leading-scorer Sean Rohane, to a team that was the No. 5 seed in the 2021 CCAA Tournament. Last season, Rohane tied for fifth in the conference with 22 points as he scored seven goals and had eight assists. The second team All-CCAA selection was one of only 10 student-athletes to average a point or more per game.
 
San Francisco State was voted ninth in the poll with 51 points. The Gators will return the 2021 CCAA Player of the Year, Gustavo Ferrari, and seven other starters. They will be seeking their first CCAA Tournament win since 2017.
 
Stanislaus State (42 points), Cal State San Marcos (34), and Cal State East Bay (20) round out the poll.
 
Follow all CCAA men's soccer matches throughout the season on the CCAA Network at CCAAnetwork.com. All CCAA men's soccer home matches and road games against conference opponents are scheduled to be streamed on the Network all season long. Follow the action for just $9.95 per month. Sign up today to support your favorite team and student-athletes.
 
The 2022 season will begin on Aug. 25. Ten CCAA men's teams will lace up the cleats on opening day, and 11 will compete in at least one match over the weekend. Cal State San Bernardino will get the season started for the CCAA with an 11:30 a.m. kickoff against Westmont. The defending national champions, Cal State LA, will open its season that evening at 7 p.m. against Saint Martin's in Burnaby, British Columbia. Click here to see the composite 2022 CCAA men's soccer schedule.
 
The teams will try to earn one of the six bids to the CCAA men's soccer tournament. The first round will be on Oct. 30 on campus sites, with the semifinals and finals taking place in San Bernardino on Nov. 4 and 6. For more information, click here.
 
CCAA Preseason Watchlist (returning first or second team All-CCAA selections)
Sulaiman Bah (Jr., F, Cal State Dominguez Hills)
Liam Duerksen (So., M, Chico State)
Gustavo Ferrari (Sr., F, San Francisco State)
Adrian Gallardo (So., GK, Cal Poly Humboldt)
Paul Henschke (Jr., F, Cal Poly Pomona)
Sean Rohane (Jr., F, Sonoma State)
Cesar Ruvalcaba (So., D, Cal Poly Pomona)
Alpha Sowe (Jr., D, Cal State Dominguez Hills)
Dylan Tovani (Sr., D, Cal Poly Humboldt)
Alvaro Unanua (Sr., GK, Cal State LA)