A-10 season preview
Who will come out of this competitive conference?
August 3, 2024 I Jack Latterman I A-10
This conference is full of strong attacking weapons with real goalscoring ability. Although last season only had a few teams in it at the end, I could see a fight between 2 or 3 teams late pushing for the title. I like VCU to repeat, but would not be shocked if SLU surprised a few people in 2024.
I would like to preface all of this by saying that this is an opinion piece. I have watched all these teams play last season and done heavy research to create this preview, but that doesn’t mean it is going to be correct… and that is what makes sports so great! My intention is not to make anyone angry with a preseason poll, as they are rarely accurate anyways. This is what I think might happen and I would love to hear if you agree or disagree.
This conference is filled with attacking weapons, but there is quite a bit of turnover on the backlines of most of these sides. I expect high scoring, exciting games throughout the A-10 season. Watch out for URI and St. Bonaventure to be much improved and fight towards the top of the table.
VCU
VCU struggled in non-conference play in 2023, but turned it on late, winning their last 3 matches to secure the A-10 title. They will look to start off 2024 on a faster note, after going winless in their first 7 last year.
The Rams seem to be without 2024 leading-scorer Jonathan Kanagwa, but that will be the only starter that left.
Senior midfielders Damian Gallegos and William Hitchcock return to lead the attack. Goalkeeper John Ermini will also be a strong point for this side.
Andrey Salmeron is someone to watch after a fantastic first year, winning A-10 Rookie of the Year.
I like VCU to be great in the conference, especially because they are returning the vast majority of their 11. They will compete for the title.
Loyola
The Ramblers had a productive season in 2023, winning 8, including 4 in the A-10. They had a disappointing end to the year, getting upset by Dayton in the first round of the conference tournament.
They will be without leading scorers Oscar Dueno and Markus Muerer, as well as Lukas Ender, a strong piece of their 2023 backline.
Goalkeeper Aidan Crawford is back after a successful first season with Loyola and Petar Janjic joins him. Julian Cisneros is the real difference-maker for them, returning in the defensive midfielder role for his grad year.
I think Loyola will be decent, but will not finish in fist in the A-10.
Saint Louis
The Billikens had a good season, winning 8 matches and finishing 3rd in the conference. They struggled away from Saint Louis, winning just one away game.
2023 leading-scorer CJ Coppola transferred to Virginia Tech and midfield leader Christian Buendia graduated. They also lost defender Diego Konincks
They picked up former Indiana centerback Joey Mayer in the transfer portal, which will be a big stability piece. Seth Anderson will be a main scoring threat and Max Floriani is back after a solid year.
I think SLU will have a good season and compete for the title.
Davidson
The Wildcats had an impressive 10-win season in 2023, including 13 points in their first 5 matches.
They did lose a number of their starters, including goalie Lou Liedtka.
Denis Krioutchenkov was a machine upfront with his 9 goals, and will return for more. Attacking midfielder Vincent Bennage is also back for his senior year following a 7 goal and 5 assist 2023.
With the loss of 4+ main pieces, they will have a few holes to fill. I think they will be alright and finish around where they did in 2023.
Duquesne
The Dukes were ok last season, finishing just above .500. They were a streaky team, winning a few in a row, but unable to find any consistency.
Their star player Ask Ekeland left for Boston College, leaving a huge 12 goals behind. Jayden Da is now on the Crew and Cameron Territo is no longer with the Dukes.
Christoffer Vie Angell is back as a senior leader for Duquesne and Ashton Jell and Grant Mcintosh return after starting every match. Zoltan Zagy also returns to start in goal.
I think Duquesne might struggle a bit to score after having so much production disappear. I see them in the lower middle of the table.
Dayton
The Flyers had a tough season, but caught fire come tournament time to win the conference tournament and make it to the NCAA Tournament out of nowhere. Their season ended in a 4-3 loss vs Louisville in a crazy game.
Star midfielder Kenji Dem Mboma is no longer with Dayton after getting drafted and starting striker Manny Day graduated. They also lost midfielder Hjalti Sigurdsson, and defenders Casper Svendby, who left for PITT and Logan Brown, who graduated.
One bright spot is the return of Miles Bonham who had a fantastic Freshman campaign. He and goalkeeper Dario Caetano will be ones to watch next season.
They added a few transfers, including Felix Buabeng, a striker from Campbellsville University in the NCCAA.
I think the Flyers will have a tougher season than last year, due to the loss of so many key pieces from the 2023 run.
UMass
The Minutemen finished just above .500 in 2023. They took home 7th in the conference.
Nick Zielonka transferred to Kentucky after a fantastic Fall season. They will also be without Michael Rojas and goalie Matt Zambetti who both graduated. They lost Jack Englebert to LMU and Ryan Levay in the middle.
The big news for this squad is the fact that striker Alec Hughes is back after scoring 15 times last season. He won the Golden Boot for USL League Two this summer, and is likely to compete for the player of the year in the A-10.
Umass will be alright because they have Hughes scoring goals, but I don’t see them being amazing after losing the amount of key guys that they will be without.
Fordham
The Rams were great at home this season, but won just a single game away. They finished with 6 wins and 7 losses, in what was a decent year.
The trio of German leaders in Kai Griese, Florian Deletioglu, and Timo Hummrich are gone. They also had 5 other starters from 2023 graduate.
Daniel D”Ippolito will take over the number 10 role and defender Jed Dixon returns to lead the defense.
They brought in a number of big transfers, including Thomas Gray from Loyola MD, Ede Gramberg from Omaha, and Jack Sias from Campbell.
I have a hard time seeing this team finish any higher than they did last season, after losing all their leaders and so many starters.
Rhode Island
URI won finished below .500 and won just two games in the A-10, in what was a disappointing 2023 season.
#10 Kevin Castaneda transferred to in-state rival Providence College, but the squad returns the majority of their other guys.
Top-goalscorer Brandon Bermingham returns for his senior year after 6 goals in just 6 starts. Ivan Montoro will be a strong piece in the midfield.
I like the Rams to finish at least midway through the table in 2024.
Saint Joseph's
The Hawks struggled in 2023, finishing with just 4 wins, with 1 being at home.
Captain Alex Hartmann and defensive partner David Schwartzman graduated. They also lost Mikkel Andersen and Philipp Wujewitsch on the backline.
Forward and leading scorer Blake Driehuis returns for his senior year after an 8 goal 2023. Truls Braendvang is also back in the midfield.
SJU lost their entire backline and I am quite a bit worried about how they will stop teams, especially with so many of the strong attackers in the conference.
George Mason
The Patriots struggled at the beginning of 2023, winning just one of their first eight matches. They did have a few big wins, including a 3-1 w at Delaware, a side that has been impressive over the past few seasons.
George Mason will be without points leader Luis Maestre and forward Souley Diouf is no longer on the roster.
Asparuh Slavov returns in the #10 role and Henry Wachsman will be back for his grad year. Javi Sanchez will be a leader on the backline, along with his entire defensive group who are also back.
I think GM will be a bit better than last season, and will finish similarly, or a tiny bit ahead of where they did in 2023.
St. Bonaventure
The Bonnies had a strange year in 2023, winning multiple games by a few goals, then getting blown out in others. They finished A-10 play with just 2 wins and 1 draw.
Rafael Pereira has moved on after 12 points in 2023. Goalkeeper Jules Dechert is the other main piece that departed.
Leading scorers Kenzo Brito and Umechi Akuazaoku both return, joined by winger Andres Javitt and forward Rashid Aroza.
I like the Bonnies to be a little better than they were last year, returning the majority of their big names and adding multiple transfers that will look to make an impact.
George Washington
The Revolutionaries won just 4 matches in 2023, but finished strong with back-to-back wins.
GW top scorer William Turner graduated and so did #10 Nacho Alastuey.
Colin Prendergast returns to the backline after a great first season in D.C., joined by Sean Vaghedi. Mark Nakamura is another player to watch on defense, as GW returns a decent amount of their starters.
I expect this side to do similarly to last season, with the loss of two attacking weapons, but return of their defensive block.
La Salle
The Explorers had a rough time in conference play, winning just 1 game in A-10 play. They showed some promise in non-conference play, so have something to build off.
Goalkeeper Filiip Sabatti left for Memphis and defender Aimar Leunda Etxeberria graduated.
America Pereira is back to secure the La Salle backline and Drew Blackwell is back to create from the midfield after his 6 assists in 2023. Dylan Kwasnik is one to watch after a strong year.
Jules Dechert came over from St. Bonaventure and will likely slot into the starting keeper role. They also grabbed two midfielders from St. Francis and American. Andoni Garrogerricaechebarria joins the squad as well after a few injury ridden seasons with FIU. He likely wins the award for the longest name in college soccer.
I think La Salle will be slightly improved from last season and will get out of the bottom of the table.
2023 Final Standings
2024 Predictions
- VCU
- SLU
- Loyola
- Davidson
- Rhode Island
- St. Bonaventure
- Umass
- Dayton
- Duquesne
- George Mason
- Fordham
- George Washington
- La Salle
- Saint Joseph’s
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