Coming off a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, the Case Western Reserve University men's soccer team will be looking to make a greater impact on the national stage in 2023.
Last season, the Spartans ended the regular season with an overall record of 10-3-3 and earned an at-large selection to the postseason for the first time under the leadership of Head Coach Carter Poe. CWRU went 5-1-1 in University Athletic Association matches, only losing to eventual national champion Chicago, and placed second in the conference. The team traveled to Lexington, Virginia, to face Muhlenberg in the first round of the NCAA Championship and played the Mules to a scoreless draw. Muhlenberg ended the team's season by prevailing in penalty kicks, 5-4.
Senior midfielder Matt Vatne returns for his fifth season with the Spartans after earning UAA Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2022. The senior appeared in all 17 matches, leading the squad with 22 points on eight goals and six assists. Senior midfielder Jacob Salmon and junior midfielder Lukas Dalakis will join Vatne on the offensive attack after starting every match last season. Both players scored three goals and added four assists.
Junior forward Kysen Kroeger, who appeared in every match, added three goals, including two game-winners. Additional experienced options at the top of the field include sophomore midfielder Camden Larson (one goal, two assists in 16 starts), junior forward Brandon Kim (one goal in 15 appearances), sophomore midfielder Ben Collier (seven appearances), and sophomore forward McLaren Baggett (six appearances).
On the backline, CWRU returns a wealth of experience, with senior defenders Josh Cook, Ryan Doughty, Alex Lippiatt, and Jad Oglesby, junior defender Sawyer Dockal, and sophomore defender Phillip Washington. Oglesby appeared in all 17 matches, making 10 starts last season, and has appeared in 34 matches during his career. Cook made 13 starts in 2022, logging 1,152 minutes on the field, and has appeared in 30 matches across two full seasons. Doughty also started 13 matches last year, with Lippiatt starting in 12 and adding three goals and an assist. Dockal appeared in seven matches last season, with 23 career appearances in CWRU Blue, and Washington reached the pitch twice during his debut season.
In goal, the Spartans will need to replace Jackson Kallen, who graduated after starting every match last season. Junior Sam Rojanasakdakul, sophomores Bradley Winter and Stephen Vilardo, and first-year Kartik Sullivan will be options for CWRU in front of the net. Rojanasakdakul has five career appearances, including four starts, saving nine shots and allowing eight goals. Winter played 18 minutes last season, contributing to the team's shutout of Defiance, and Vilardo played 21 minutes in a 3-1 win over Asbury.
Poe welcomes 12 newcomers to the squad for the 2023 season, including 10 first-years, one junior, and one graduate student. In addition to Sullivan, first-year defenders Cormac Apostolides, Casey Malcolm, Ian Manns, Daniel Sandall, and Cameron Thayer and first-year midfielders Ohta Kamiya, David Pineda, Adam Pluszczyk, and Sean Wilson will begin their collegiate careers at CWRU. Graduate student midfielder Kellan Landefeld joins the Spartans after playing as an undergraduate at Division I Michigan State University where he appeared in 19 matches, and junior midfielder Charlie Wittenberg joins the team after playing for the CWRU club team the last two years.
After opening the campaign at Otterbein, the Spartans will face three straight non-conference opponents on DiSanto Field, taking on Wooster on September 3, Defiance on September 6, and Capital on September 9. Following a short trip to #23 John Carroll, who reached the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament last season, CWRU will host Allegheny on September 16, travel to Mount Union, and welcome Denison to Cleveland on September 23 to end non-conference play.
Case Western Reserve opens UAA play with a road matchup against NYU, one of four conference teams to reach the postseason in 2022. The Spartans will host Emory on October 7 before traveling to Rochester the following Saturday. On October 20, defending national champion and top-ranked Chicago will visit DiSanto Field, with WashU following on October 22 for Case Western Reserve's final regular season home match of 2023. CWRU ends the regular season with road matches against Brandeis and archrival Carnegie Mellon, who appeared in the NCAA Tournament last year.
