The Hofstra men’s soccer team collected nine first-place votes and is projected to defend its back-to-back CAA titles, according to a poll of the conference’s 11 head coaches.

In addition, Hofstra midfielder Eliot Goldthorp was selected as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year after proving to be one of the nation’s top offensive threats a season ago.

Hofstra won its second-straight CAA Championship last fall on a run from the No. 3 seed in the regular season. The Pride went 14-4-3 and collected 17 points in league play as part of a tight race atop the table that came down to the regular season’s final day. 

Elon, which won the regular season a year ago, was picked to finish second by CAA coaches, while UNCW ranks third after a second-place finish in 2022. Each team received one first-place vote.

League newcomer Campbell was picked fourth after winning the Big South regular season title last fall, while Northeastern and William & Mary were projected for the other two spots in the top six. Drexel, a CAA Semifinalist a year ago, was picked seventh, ahead of Charleston, Delaware, Monmouth, and Stony Brook. 

Goldthorp was second in the nation in goals (17) and points (40) in his first year on Long Island after transferring to Hofstra. The midfielder from the United Kingdom notched four multi-goal games, including a hat trick against Columbia and a brace in the NCAA Tournament at South Florida.

Nine programs are represented among the 12 Preseason All-CAA selections with Hofstra collecting three honors and Elon two. Campbell, Charleston, Delaware, Drexel, Monmouth, UNCW, and Northeastern earned one pick each.

The CAA Men’s Soccer Championship will begin with the top two seeds hosting opening weekend games on November 2 and 5, with the final slated for the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Nov. 11.

2023 CAA Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll

2023 Preseason All-CAA Men’s Soccer Team

2023 CAA Preseason Player of the Year

Eliot Goldthorp, Hofstra

* Received at least one vote for Preseason Player of the Year

There was a tie in the voting, hence the 12-player team

Honorable Mention 

Alfredo Bozalongo, M, William & Mary; Leonardo D’Ambrosio, M, Charleston; Eryk Dymora, GK, Monmouth; Luca Erhardt, F, Elon; Cole Knapp, D, William & Mary; Tiago Lopes, M, Campbell; Majaliwa Msabaha, M, Elon; Colton Pleasants, M, UNCW; Jake Shannon, D, UNCW