| 2022 PacWest MSOC Poll |
| 1. |
Azusa Pacific (7) |
114 |
| 2. |
Point Loma (4) |
108 |
| 3. |
Biola |
101 |
| 4. |
Concordia |
89 |
| 5. |
Hawai`i Pacific |
69 |
| 6. |
Fresno Pacific |
62 |
| 7. |
Dominican |
58 |
| 8. |
Hawai`i Hilo |
40 |
| 9. |
Holy Names |
34 |
| 10. |
Chaminade |
31 |
| 11. |
Academy of Art |
20 |
| First-place votes in parenthesis |
It's no coincidence that the 2022 race for the Pacific West Conference men's soccer title is projected to be decided by a razor thin margin, just like the 2021 campaign played out.
It's also not a surprise that three-time defending champion Azusa Pacific was selected by the PacWest coaches to make it four in a row, also by a very close margin. The Cougars received seven of the 11 first-place votes and 114 points, edging Point Loma who had four first place ballots and 108 total points. Biola was a very close third with 101 total voting points. Concordia was next in fourth with 89 points.
In 2021, the PacWest race came down to the final match of the season, where APU nipped Biola in overtime, 3-2. That clinched the title for the Cougars by just one point over Point Loma. Azusa was 8-1-1 in PacWest play (25 points), Point Loma was 8-2 (24 points) and Biola finished 7-3 (21 points).
In 2022, the Cougars and Eagles claimed the three individual preseason awards, with Biola’s
JD Gunn selected as the PacWest Conference Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year and
Izaac Zausch being recognized as the PacWest Preseason Defender of the Year. APU’s
Gregoire Diep was named the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year.
Diep helped lead the Cougars to the PacWest title and a NCAA West/South Super Regional berth (the Cougars lost 3-2 to West Texas A&M). Diep, a senior from Munich, Germany, was the 2021-22 PacWest Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year off the field, and was a First-Team USCA All-American on it. The midfielder was also a First Team All-Region selection and picked up his third All-PacWest honor. His 18 total points ranked second in the conference. Since arriving on campus in 2018, he has helped lead the Cougars to three PacWest titles.
Zausch was the 2021 PacWest Defender of the Year as a junior
. Zausch played every minute of the season for Biola, which held its opponents to just 21 goals in 18 matches. The Eagles defense produced five shutouts and held opponents to only 67 shots on goal. Zausch scored three goals on the season and assisted one as well. The Eagles defense helped lead them into the NCAA postseason, where they fell to Cal Poly Pomona in the opening round. Zausch is a senior from Liberty Hill, Texas.
Gunn was the last stop on that solid Biola defense and was selected as the 2022 Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. He had a 1.58 Goals Against Average and had 40 saves on the season. The Panama City native was named Second Team All-PacWest for the second time after also earning that honor in 2019. In two-plus seasons, the 6-foot-5 stopper has nine shutouts and 123 saves.
Diep, Zausch and Gunn were of course also named to the PacWest-All Preseason team. Biola had five selections, as did Point Loma and Azusa Pacific had three.
Joining Zausch and Gunn for Biola were
Theo Le Calve (MF),
Aidan Hill (MF) and
Kristian Colaci (F). Point Loma’s five were
Seth Ketterer (GK),
Matthew Abangan (D),
Dalton Kinney (D),
Parker Scalzo (F) and
Corey Lundeen (MF).
In addition to Diep, APU was represented by
Joseph Macpherson (D) and
Marco Astorga (F). 2021 First Team PacWest pick
Alex Perez of Concordia was also named to the squad.
Point Loma’s Scalzo was the 2021 PacWest Player of the Year with nine goals scored and Biola’s Le Calve was the Newcomer of the Year. BU’s Colaci was selected despite never playing a minute yet for the Eagles after transferring from Texas A&M International.
Nine of the PacWest’s 11 teams will open this week (Aug. 25-28). Holy Names and Point Loma will kick things off on Thursday (1 pm) with home matches against Stanislaus State and Cal Poly Pomona respectively, with Thursday evening matches slated for Fresno Pacific (The Master’s), Academy of Art (at Cal State Dominguez Hills) and Azusa Pacific (Westminster UT).
On Friday, Hawai`i Pacific will make history as Western Oregon’s first-ever men’s soccer opponent, and on Saturday Concordia and Biola have their first matches at home against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State San Marcos. Dominican gets under way on Sunday at Stanislaus State.
UH Hilo will christen their new field with a Sept. 4 match against Cal Poly Humboldt, while Chaminade will begin 2022 in Idaho on Sept. 6, taking on regional power West Texas A&M.
Here is a look at all 11 PacWest men’s soccer teams.
(1) Azusa Pacific returns 17 players off their 2021 championship roster, including four starters who earned All-PacWest honors—Diep, Astorga, Macpherson and defender Fritz Oestreicher. The Cougars lost nine players off that squad, but head coach Dave Bloomquist (14
th season, 151-58-15) signed seven transfers and eight freshmen to bridge the gap. Those transfers include former Point Loma All-PacWest standout Tim Siegfried and Cal State San Bernardino transfers Juancarlos Rodriguez and Musa Yansaneh.
(2) Point Loma missed out on a postseason berth a year ago despite an 11-4-1 record and an 8-2 mark in the PacWest. They are loaded again with four returning All-PacWest selections including Player of the Year Parker Scalzo, along with Seth Ketterer (GK), Matthew Abangan (D), Dalton Kinney (D), Parker Scalzo (F) and Corey Lundeen (MF). Other starters returning include Austin Lavell (seven assists) and Townsend Meyer. Seven freshmen and five transfers look to make a mark including Samuel Tuscano (Westmont), KC Smith (Westmont), and Marlon Buck (Barry University). Tuscano and Smith were All-GSAC selections at Westmont, while Buck was the second leading scorer at Barry. Head coach Phil Wolf is in his 11
th season at PLNU (202-91-37).
(3) Biola reached the NCAA postseason for the first time in 2021 and returns seven starters from that team. Second-year coach Joey O’Keefe (11-7) welcomes back Izaac Zausch (First Team All-American), Theo Le Calve (PacWest Newcomer of the Year), JD Gunn (PacWest Preseason GK of Year), Aidan Hill, Haiko Hovak, Daniel Simonis, and Clement Michelet. The Eagles also signed a pair of big time transfers in Westcliff’s Jakob Schnitzer, the Cal Pac Defender of the Year, and Kristian Colaci, an all-region selection last year at Texas A&M International.
(4) Concordia finished fifth in the PacWest last season but holds the claim of handing champion Azusa Pacific its lone conference loss (3-1). Veteran head coach Chris Gould (14
th season, 131-75-17) has six starters back in Alex Perez (Sr., F, 1
st Team All-PacWest); Tyler Oakson (Jr., D, 2
nd Team All-PacWest); Klaus Huovila (Sr., MF, 3
rd Team All-PacWest); Andre Flores (So., GK); Miguel Peña (Sr., F); Wyatt Burris (Sr.; D); and Brett Lux (Sr., D). Lopez is a Preseason All-PacWest selection, led the Golden Eagles with seven goals and three assists last season.
(5) Hawaii Pacific finished fourth in the PacWest last season with a 6-2-2 mark. Head coach Chris Fisher (13
th season, 96-75-21) welcomes back eight starters in Gerrit Arzberger (MF, Gr.), Jeremy Zielinski (GK, Gr.), Reece Montgomery (F, Gr.), Austin Stafford (F, Gr.), Makana Srivongsana (F, Gr.), Sebastian Navarro (MF, Jr.), Leandro Weingartner (MF, Jr.), and Dennis Dinyer (D, Jr.). Six transfers dot the roster, including Sebastian Pavez who played for NCAA D-II runner-up Charleston, and division I transfer Dominic Toone (UNC-Wilmington).
(6) Fresno Pacific takes the No. 6 preseason slot under veteran coach Jaime Ramirez, who enters his 32
nd season at the Sunbirds leader. FPU was 6-8-1 overall in 2021 and went 4-5-1 in the PacWest. 16 players are back including returning starters Antonioangel Lepe (Forward), Gabriel Monteiro (Defender), and Taran Williams (Midfielder).
(7) Dominican is next after posting a winning record (8-6-2) in 2021. Head coach David Frank enters into his fifth season with 13 returnees and a whopping ten returning starters-- Brian Sanchez (Gr.), Eddie Silverbush (Gr.), Maxwell Ward (Sr.), Louie Galdamez (Sr.), Alejandro Reyes (Sr.), Diego Grande (So.), Christopher Barrios (Sr.), Dominic Galletti (Gr.), Ryan Garvey (Sr.), and Nick Van der Waart van Gulik (Jr.).
(8) Hawai`i Hilo has a new coach and a new field. Garrett Estrin comes to Hilo from the College of the Desert and gets to lead his team onto a new on campus pitch next month (Sept. 4). Estrin inherits five starters in Brady O’Neill (Defender, Fifth Year); Wataru Muto (Midfielder/Defender, Junior); Tom Vorkastner (Forward, Junior); and Alex Carmona (Midfielder / Defender, Senior). The Vulcans went 6-7-1 last seasonand 4-5-1 in conference play.
(9) Holy Names has 11 players with starting experience for second-year head coach Dave Marroquin. The Hawks’ preseason practices were sure to be competitive as Marroquin also brough in 11 transfers, including Division I goalkeeper Mallei Rios from Gardner-Webb. HNU’s returning starters are Amine Abdelouahid, Pablo Ramirez, Elio Corral, Gabe Ventura, Gustavo Reyes, Marco Carbajal, Walter Avellaneda, Erik Arias, Jehimy Arias, Rene Hidalgo, and Andres Cuevas.
(10) Chaminade has a new coach in Joshua Woodard, a former UH Hilo assistant. Woodard has three returning starters in Zack McClellan (D, So.), Joseph Wren (D, So.), and Brandon Yasue (GK, Sr.). He signed a huge freshman class of 11 players and also two transfers-- Ryan Anderson (F, Jr., Cal State Monterey Bay) and Daniel Villalva (MF, So., La Sierra College).
(11) Academy of Art has a large returning class for third-year coach Seamus Wisely. Eight starters are back-- Logi Saemundsson (D, Sr.), Gilli Kristjansson (M, Sr.), William Mychaltchouk (M, Jr.), Elvis Mensah (M, So.), Gilly Miller (M/F, Jr.), Jose “JJ” Cortez (D, Sr.), Christian Schaffner (M, Jr.), Davis King (GK, Sr.), and Breki Einarsson (M/F, Sr.). Three transfers could also help as well-- Chris Stokes (D, So, Flagler College), Nolan Shafik (M, Gr, UC San Diego), and Mark Figueroa (D., Fr, Los Angeles City College).
| 2022 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST MEN’S SOCCER AWARDS |
| Player of the Year |
Defender of the Year |
Goalkeeper of the Year |
| Gregoire Diep, Azusa Pacific |
Izaac Zausch, Biola |
JD Gunn, Biola |
| 2022 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST MEN’S SOCCER TEAM |
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
POS |
YR |
HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL |
| JD Gunn |
Biola |
GK |
Jr. |
Panama City, Panama/Wheaton Academy |
| Seth Ketterer |
Point Loma |
GK |
Sr. |
Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad |
| Izaac Zausch |
Biola |
D |
Sr. |
Liberty Hill, Tex./St. Edward’s Univ. |
| Joseph Macpherson |
Azusa Pacific |
D |
Sr. |
Aberdeen, Scotland/Tyler JC |
| Matthew Abangan |
Point Loma |
D |
Jr. |
Glendora, Calif./Glendora |
| Dalton Kinney |
Point Loma |
D |
Sr. |
Coronado, Calif./Coronado |
| Parker Scalzo |
Point Loma |
F |
Sr. |
Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley |
| Marco Astorga |
Azusa Pacific |
F |
So. |
Canutillo, Tex./Canutillo |
| Kristian Colaci |
Biola |
F |
Jr. |
Milan, Italy/Texas A&M International |
| Alex Perez |
Concordia |
F |
Sr. |
Corona, Calif./Centennial |
| Gregoire Diep |
Azusa Pacific |
MF |
Sr. |
Munich, Germany/Fos Ingolstadt |
| Theo Le Calve |
Biola |
MF |
Sr. |
Bayeux, France/Univ. of Tulsa |
| Corey Lundeen |
Point Loma |
MF |
Sr. |
Arroyo Grande, Calif./Arroyo Grande |
| Aidan Hill |
Biola |
MF |
Sr. |
Peoria, Ill./South Carolina Upstate |