HUDSONVILLE, Mich. – The Trine University men's soccer team was selected to finish fourth in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) according to the 2022 preseason coaches poll.
Calvin University swept the top spot in the poll for the 16th straight season, with seven points and seven first-place votes. Kalamazoo College laid claim to the last remaining first-place vote and tallied 16 points. Slightly behind them were Hope College and Trine with 20 and 21 points, respectively.
The point totals are determined by votes cast by the association's coaches, who cannot vote for their own team, with low point total receiving the top spot.
The Thunder and head coach David Jacobs are the defending MIAA Tournament champions after defeating Albion, Calvin and Kalamazoo on their way to a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. In 2022, they look to lay claim to their first MIAA regular season title as well.
Last season, Trine had a record of 12-8-1 overall and were 4-2-1 in league play. They were led on offense by Tyler Murphy with 17 goals, a value good for second in the MIAA. The junior Murphy enters the 2022 campaign just four goals away from tying Nooh Aljabaly for most career goals in the NCAA DIII era.
The Thunder also return five student-athletes that totaled three or more goals one season ago: Alhusain Yahya, Joey Donovan, Francesco Mazzei, Colin Nicoski and Alhasan Yahya. In all, 86 of their 102 points from 2021 are on the 2022 roster.
Defenders Ethan Pendry, Jared Cromwell and Will Burba each started 10 or more games last season and look to keep opponents off the scoreboard again in 2022.
Seniors Nicoski, Pendry, Cromwell, Kyle Russell and Luis Rodriguez will lead a group of nine juniors, five sophomores and fourteen freshmen on the pitch.
The home opener for Trine men's soccer is on Saturday, September 3 and is a rematch of the 2021 NCAA Tournament match. Otterbein University travels to Angola to take on the Thunder at 1:30 pm.