The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Soccer team returns to action for the 2022 season with a very deep and talented lineup, in the hopes of a return trip to the ECC Tournament Championship Final and a long NCAA Division II Tournament run. The Spartans were selected to finish first in the annual conference preseason coaches poll released on Thursday.
In 2021, STAC earned an overall record of 10-3-4 and a 6-1-2 mark in ECC play, finishing atop the standings and winning the conference's regular season title for the first time in program history. The Spartans advanced all the way to the East Coast Conference Tournament Final where they fought valiantly, but fell in heartbreaking fashion to Molloy College on penalty kicks.
An off-season of roster retooling by Head Coach Graham Brown, has the Spartans excited for what could potentially be another outstanding, championship caliber season.
STAC returns 22 players from their playoff run a season ago, as Felix Davies, Kevin Carabali, Gianfranco Banca, Maxi Heuter, Paul Renaldo, Jose Tovar, Cameron Smith, Joel Hofstetter, Kevon Evans, Juan Pablo Cedeno Varea, Jan Forsterling Beltran, Dan Dougill, Jorge Umana, Seif Samy, Angelo Zografos, Tristan Greenidge, Cole Allen, Enton Zotaj, Ryan Collins, Bailey Caller, Anthony Bolivar Sanchez and Joshua Heber will all make their way back to Sparkill.
A mix of freshman and transfers were brought in to help bolster the Spartan roster for another potential long postseason. George Stephenson (So./London, England), Andres Gonzalez-Rions (Jr./Lodi, NJ), Nicholas Sadorf (Fr./Tampa, FL), Xavier Floyd (Fr./Tampa, FL), Danilo Camilo (Jr./Guarulhos, Brazil), Lewis Paterson (Fr./Banff, Scotland), Angel Catalan Hernandez (Fr./Huntington, NY), Roman Capucha (Fr./Bratislava, Slovakia). Tabor McDaniels (Fr./Tampa, FL), Christian Ferlisi (Fr./Toronto, Canada), Ernesto Le Goaziou (Fr./Rennes, France), Hunter Jones (Fr./Tampa, FL), Dwyant Suazo (Fr./Carmel, NY), Yahir Hernandez (Fr./Yonkers, NY), Jalen Moni (Fr./Hillsborough, NJ) and Dimitry Tchantcheu (Jr./Beauvais, France) are the 16 new faces set to make their debuts in maroon and gold this fall.
2021 ECC Coach of the Year Graham Brown will once again patrol the STAC sideline this season, his 22nd with the college. Assistant coach George Prepis also returns, while former Spartan Alexander Taylor ('21) joins the coaching ranks, along with Mark Rajovic and Patrick McAvoy for their first seasons with the maroon and gold.
St. Thomas Aquinas College will open their 2022 season on the road on Thursday, August 25 at Saint Michael's College College, with kickoff scheduled for 12pm in Colchester, Vermont.
2022 ECC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. | Last Year's Record |
| T1. Molloy (5) | 70 | 9-7-5 (5-2-2 ECC) |
| T1. St. Thomas Aquinas (2) | 70 | 10-3-4 (6-1-2 ECC) |
| 3. Mercy (2) | 65 | 9-5-2 (5-2-2 ECC) |
| 4. Dist. Columbia | 55 | 8-5-4 (5-1-3 ECC) |
| 5. Roberts Wesleyan | 45 | 8-7-3 (4-2-3 ECC) |
| 6. Queens | 37 | 8-8-0 (3-6-0 ECC) |
| 7. Staten Island | 26 | 3-12-2 (1-7-1 ECC) |
| 8. Daemen | 25 | 5-11-0 (3-6-0 ECC) |
| 9. D'Youville | 12 | 5-10-3 (0-8-1 ECC) |
( ) - first place votes
ECC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Dylan Ruiz, Sr., F., Roberts Wesleyan
ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Orlando Zambrano, Sr., B, Molloy