The Case Western Reserve University men's soccer team was selected to the NCAA Championship in 2023, appearing in back-to-back tournaments for the first time in program history. The Spartans advanced to the second round, improving on last season's finish by one round.
CWRU finished the campaign with a 10-3-4 record, identical to its mark in 2022, reaching the postseason for the fifth time in program history. The Spartans faced five teams who were ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 at the time of the match and six who reached the NCAA Tournament.
Traveling to Cortland, New York, for the first two rounds of the postseason, Case Western Reserve defeated Hobart 3-2 in the first round. Juniors Kysen Kroeger and Lukas Dalakis and senior Jad Oglesby all scored in the contest. In the second round, the team faced host and sixth-ranked Cortland, battling the Red Dragons to a 1-1 draw after double overtime. However, for the second straight season, the team's tournament run ended in a penalty kick shootout, with Cortland advancing 5-3.
CWRU tied for third in the competitive University Athletic Association, going 3-2-2 in conference play. After opening the conference schedule with a win at NYU, the Spartans followed a loss to fifth-ranked Emory with two consecutive scoreless ties. The team rebounded after a loss to WashU, winning its final two matches of the regular season over Brandeis and Carnegie Mellon to improve its resume for postseason selection.
The Spartans began 2023 with four consecutive wins, tied then-No. 5 John Carroll, and defeated Allegheny to start the year with a record of 5-0-1. A close loss to a ranked Mount Union squad was followed by a 1-0 home win over Denison, an NCAA Tournament team.
CWRU was led by its stout defense during the season, matching the program record with nine shutouts in 17 matches. Sophomore goalkeeper Bradley Winter, an All-UAA honorable mention, started every match and allowed just 10 goals during the season. His 0.59 goals against average ranked fourth lowest in a single season in program history. Individually, Winter matched the program record with eight shutouts, saved 43 shots, and had a .811 save percentage.
In front of Winter were a pair of All-UAA honorees in seniors Josh Cook and Alex Lippiatt. Cook, who missed just 29 minutes of action all season, earned First Team selection and Lippiatt, who added six assists as the team's primary set piece taker, was named to the Second Team. Oglesby and junior Sawyer Dockal also started every match on the backline that allowed just 3.29 shots on goal per contest.
Senior Matt Vatne led the offense with a team-high 16 points on four goals and eight assists. The fifth-year senior was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team, becoming the second player in program history to earn multiple All-America honors. He also received his third selection to the All-UAA First Team. Vatne was the focal point of the team's attack, leading the Spartans with 42 shots, 18 shots on goal, and three game-winning goals. He finished his career with 53 points on 17 goals and 19 assists, ranking fourth in program history in career assists and eighth in career points.
Up front, four additional Spartans recorded at least five points. Junior forward Brandon Kim tied for the team lead with four goals and contributed four assists, Kroeger scored three times and added two assists, first-year Sean Wilson had three goals in his debut season, and Dalakis added two goals and an assist. Senior midfielder Jacob Salmon and sophomore midfielder Camden Larson helped to coordinate the attack with both players starting every match.
Academically, three Spartans earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors, a record high for the team and tied for the most in Division III. Lippiatt (First Team) and Vatne (Second Team) became the first student-athletes in program history to earn multiple Academic All-America honors and Cook (Second Team) received his first career honor. Kroeger, Salmon, and Winter were named to the Academic All-District Team in addition to Cook, Lippiatt, and Vatne. In total 17 members of the team received UAA All-Academic recognition, including Cook, Dalakis, Dockal, Kim, Kroeger, Larson, Lippiatt, Oglesby, Salmon, Vatne, Winter, senior Ryan Doughty, juniors Sam Rojanasakdakul and Charlie Wittenberg, and sophomores Ben Collier, Stephen Vilardo, and Philip Washington.
The Spartans earned the following honors during the 2023 season:
|
United Soccer Coaches All-America
|
|
Matt Vatne
|
Second Team
|
|
United Soccer Coaches All-Region VII
|
|
Matt Vatne
|
First Team
|
The following were the 2023 statistical leaders for the Spartans: