The Spartans look good thus far (sweet volley from Rossen by the way!) but they've typically done well in the non-conference these past few years. It'll be interesting to see how they do once UAA play starts and they take on some of these ranked teams. Coach Poe finally has a team that's full of his recruited players so it'll be interesting to see how they contend. Nice to see more goals from the Spartans!

What a comeback today from the Washington University men! Down 2 in the 63rs minute and they find a way back to win it 3-2. The former freshman of the year Daniel Kochen finds himself on the scoresheet and I suspect he will continue to show up there in the next few games. They outshot Elmhurst 22-4!

UChicago with another big win over Gustavus Adolphus. Sam Jimenez and Evan Kanellos again! The Maroons continue to look formidable this year. For the CWRU followers out there, they lead 2-0 against Wooster with 18 minutes to go. Ohta Kamiya gets the second goal after a selfless assist from Micah Rossen. CMU falls against Otterbein 2-1. GK Yamamoto finishes with 5 saves but it isn't enough to keep the game level. I expect WashU to get back to their winning ways tomorrow and will be interested to see how Rochester and Brandeis do later this week.

We seem to have a lot of folks interested in CWRU here! I'll give a brief shoutout to Emory who came back down 3-0 against Belhaven and scored 5 goals unanswered with multiple right at the end of the game. Captain Logan Steren finds himself on the scoresheet again and continues to come up big for Emory. UAA Offensive Player of the Year Lorenzo Avalos has still yet to feature even though he is on roster so you've gotta think the Eagles will be even more threatening once he returns. Rochester gets their first win at home after a tough defeat against a talented Cortland team. A shoutout to UChicago with a big win over North Park with goals from Wu, Kanellos, Perry, Ratohkin and Jimenez. A close loss against #3 St Olaf should not stop the Uchicago momentum and I think they'll still be super successful in the next few games. It's notable that Washington University just drew North Park after smashing Milikin in their first game. Every game is different though so we will see how that bodes for UAA play. I try not to get too caught up in the first few games of the season but it's interesting as teams start playing common opponents. For our CWRU fans on here, that OWU win was big as Ohio Wesleyan typically is a tournament team. It'll be interesting to see how they do against Wooster today after Wooster smashed Juniata 4-0 on Friday and has an extra day of rest. Another shoutout to NYU for starting the year off 2-0! Hopefully the violets are turning it around to make UAA play even more competitive this year.

Another UAA season finally looms on the horizon and after an exciting season last year with Emory, Brandeis, UChiago, and reining champions Washington University making the tournament, the UAA looks poised for another successful year.

UChicago returns most of its top players including first team All UAA midfielder Edward Wu. In addition, they bring back starting goalkeeper Ali Alamery who's been impressive between the sticks and finished on the All Conference teams last year. UChicago also returns now sophomore striker, Giovanni Caselli, who led the lines for them last year and will look to get even better this year. A couple other players to watch includes Evan Kanellos, Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey, and Samuel Jimenez. UChicago lost senior attacking midfielder Kai Walsh so they'll be looking to fill the gap there. I expect them to be fighting for the conference title yet again as they consistently do.

Reigning UAA champions Washington University remain poised for another big season. Falling only to NCAA tournament runner ups, Trinity, WashU had an impressive campaign last fall. They'll return conference defender of the year Quentin Gomez along with freshman of the year Daniel Kochen (who's brother played at Barcelona and is now out on loan for all the USA fans out there) and of course forward Ethan Wirtschafter who had an outstanding campaign last season. A big loss for them will be winger Zach Susee who's been a staple in their squad for the past few years, but WashU always finds talent and I suspect this years class will be no different. Starting goalkeeper Cal L'Hommedieu also returns in goal after two impressive seasons. While the UAA will be as competitive as ever, WashU has every chance to repeat.

Moving onto Emory University who had the most successful campaign last year falling narrowly in the Final Four in a heartbreaker. They'll lose top player Ignacio Cubeddu who lit up the conference last year and Josh Grand, the talented midfielder who's been playing for them the past 4 years. They return a talented senior class with Logan Steren, Michael Constant, and of course UAA OPOY, Lorenzo Avalos. The question will be how Avalos returns from his injury in the post season. Emory has also brought in a number of division one transfers again this year which makes them even more formidable. While Emory lost a number of players to graduation, the reload with transfers and return of their core class of seniors, makes them formidable yet again this year.

Brandies will look to continue their success after one of the best seasons in history last year finding themselves at the top of NPI rankings across the fall and making the tournament and taking eventual winner, Tufts, to overtime. The loss of captains Nico Belinda and Rainer Osselmann-Chai will be a challenge that the Judges will have to overcome. They return Maddox Yu and Dylan Marcoza who both made the UAA teams for the conference. Brandeis graduates a number of players who've played a lot of minutes over the past 4 years. The Judges face a challenging non-conference schedule which should set them up nicely for success in the conference and on the NPI rankings.

Rochester returns top player Milos Bisenic off a First Team All UAA season and one of the conferences best from the wingback position. They'll also retain talented forward Johnny Makula and now graduate student Mikey Burke who both finished second in the conference last year. Talented midfielder Sebastian Ballasteros returns after an impressive freshman campaign. They'll lose top center back Kol Bassuk who's been one of the conferences best over the past few years along with Tyler Moran in midfield. Rochester has brought in 13 new players along with 3 goalkeepers which should mean some new blood in the team this year. They face a tough schedule including SUNY Cortland, Skidmore, Hobart, and more and they'll take on the CWRU Spartans in the first UAA contest.

Having just mentioned them, Case Western Reserve University comes off a season finishing 7-7-5. They return standout defender Alex Eby who will look to continue to impress in his sophomore campaign. The Spartans will also return Cormac Apostolides who was out with an injury the last year. The Spartans, known for their defense having given up 8 goals last year, lose All UAA first team goalkeeper Bradley Winter and All UAA first team defender Phillip Washington, along with veteran midfielder Camden Larson. They'll need to fill those shoes but return other key players including midfielders Owen Guffey and Sean Wilson. The issue has been goals and the Spartans have brought in ten new players with majority being attackers. The main newcomer to focus on is Saiheed Jah, a graduate student who played at Drake University. The Spartans will also return attacker Micah Rossen from injury who will look to continue his success from last year before his season ended early in the first conference game. In addition, keep an eye on sophomore midfielder Raj Chitre as he plays more minutes for CWRU. The key for the Spartans is goals and if they can find them, with their defensive posture, they can compete with anybody.

Carnegie Mellon brings back the only freshman to make the All UAA First Team in Mateas Fitzwilliam along with midfielder Tristian Gonzalez who finished second team. They'll continue to have goalkeeper Kai Yamamoto in net who's been a constant for them over the past few years. Freshman forward Idan Garten also stood out for the Tartans last year and should be expected to contribute again this season. The Tartans did not lose a lot of players this past year to graduation so expect a team of players with experience to make them very competitive this upcoming season. They'll take on Otterbein, Ohio Northern, and Denison who should all be formidable tests for the team as they prepare for UAA play.

Lastly, New York University will look to rebound after last seasons performance. They'll lose first team All UAA player Terra Nagai who has been a star for NYU over the past few years along with the impressive Ethan Zarka (one of the most technical players the UAA has seen in awhile). For those curious about Zarka, watch the replay of Emory and NYU last year. They'll also graduate both centerbacks so they'll be looking to fill the gaps at all of these positions. For players returning, they'll have Keyon Namdar back who was an All UAA honorable mention. It's uncertain how many recruits/transfers they've brought in but I suspect they'll have a large class. They play a favorable nonconference schedule that bodes well for starting UAA play. We all want to see NYU back to where they were 4-5 years ago so hopefully the program will turn around this season.

Let me know your thoughts on any of these teams and your way to early predictions for conference standings! I suspect the UAA will be up top yet again with a number of teams competing for the conference and top spots in NPI.