MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Preseason preparations for Dan Stratford’s seventh season as the WVU men’s soccer head coach have been adversely impacted by everything from a succession of injuries to, off all things, maple syrup. One is obviously more serious than the other.
West Virginia, selected 23rd in the preseason national coaches poll and first by the Sun Belt Conference coaches, will open up their regular season Thursday at Charlotte. The 49ers (8-4-4 in 2025) are the preseason favorite to win the American Conference this fall.
“We’re going to learn a lot pretty quickly. We have an incredible non-conference schedule this year with a lot of ranked teams and a lot of teams that plan to be ranked as well,” Stratford said. “Charlotte is certainly being one of them. We have a team that is very familiar with making deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. I think 11 of the last 14 years they have made the NCAA Tournament. We are very aware that we have a number next to our name and they don’t. That is something I am sure will give extra motivation.”
The Mountaineers (13-5-3 in 2025) were scheduled to compete in three preseason scrimmages, but only two were played. WVU opened the month of August by hosting Pittsburgh. West Virginia was scheduled to host WVU-Tech, but their opponents were unable to complete the trek to Morgantown because a truck carrying maple syrup jackknifed on I-79, closing the interstate. WVU concluded the preseason Friday night at Georgetown.
“I thought we performed very, very well against Pittsburgh and we were clearly the stronger team with respect to what they showed on that day, at least. I was really, really pleased with the encouraging signs. Obviously, we had a sticky situation with the West Virginia Tech game, pun intended. It would have been nice to get that game and learn a little bit more, as much as we tried to recreate a scrimmage and have an intrasquad game, it is just not the same. We lost an opportunity there to some extent to learn even more about the group.
“And then the Georgetown game, it was good to have that experience and to go through some of the challenges and be stress-tested against a Top 5 team.”
Co-captain and defender Thijs Veldhorst and new defender Mark Chust are lost for the season due to injuries. Other lesser ailments have started to stack up.
“Sadly, we woke up Saturday morning after playing Georgetown with 12 injury concerns. When you have a roster of 28, that definitely has an impact on things. I am happy to say that most of the group have gotten to a place where I think they can offer and contribute for Charlotte. But we are definitely dealing with an injury crisis that I have never experienced in my life.”
Three goalkeepers are battling for the starting spot following the graduation of two-year starter Marc Bonnaire. All three (Chase Collins, Toby Mawer and Kendall Starks) have been hampered to some degree by injury in the preseason.
“To compound matters, Chase Collins broke his nose in training yesterday.
“It won’t interrupt things. He just may look like Batman when he plays. We have a 3-D mask coming his way to kind of alleviate that. I would say Kendall (shoulder) is probably a week or so away from being full-go and truly being able to compete for the position again.”
The Mountaineers must replace one of the program’s most prolific scorers in Marcus Caldeira. He led the Mountaineers with 14 goals and 7 assists in a first team All-American season in 2025. He currently competes for Minnesota United FC in Major League Soccer. Co-captain Pablo Pozos returns after scoring 11 goals last fall.
“Marcus was responsible for a number of assists for Pablo last year, especially early on in the season as well. I do think that is something we need to be mindful of. I think the nature of Marcus’ playing style drew a lot of attention and allowed Pablo to do what he does best, to arrive on the ball for the final finish and the final action. We have every intention of utilizing Pablo in a very, very similar fashion.”
Midfielders Isaac Scheer (co-captain) and Nacho Martinez are returning starters in the midfield.
“Both are members of our leadership group within the squad. I think what they have shown in a short amount of time with Isaac obviously technically now still with three years of eligibility and Nacho I believe still with two and that continuity for years to come. I think Tyler Zapata has had a fantastic preseason with us as well.”
Dan Stratford enters his 7th season as the WVU men’s soccer head coach. His former WVU teammates Nick Noble & Andy Wright have been on his coaching staff in each season since 2020: pic.twitter.com/Eo40IWoac6
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) August 18, 2026
Stratford has enjoyed continuity on his coaching staff with top assistants and former WVU teammates Nick Noble and Andy Wright with him for each of his seven seasons.
“From this position, I need trust and loyalty. I need to know that they are going to echo the same sentiments that I will and support me in that regard. It was so organic because they are both great friends and were before I even arrived in the program. That part, I always felt really, really good about.
“I have learned to delegate a lot better. I can afford to because I have two incredibly qualified full-time members of staff that have been with us for that amount of time. This time probably four years ago, I wouldn’t have had time for this [interview] because I would be working on the set piece scout of the opponent that we do tomorrow. I don’t do that anymore because Andy could do a better job with it.
“It shows up in ways every day where the players feel that, sense that and have an understanding of how well we work together, how much we enjoy each other’s company, which is another huge piece. They know me so well. They know what I’m like when we lose. They know what I am like when we win. Hopefully neither one of those is too bad to manage and negotiate.”
The 2026 season could be the final year with a fall-only schedule of games. A proposal for an expanded season with competitive matches stretching from the fall into the spring could receive final NCAA approval soon. It would be implemented for the 2027-2028 season.
“I wouldn’t have voted in favor of it if I didn’t think it was good for West Virginia as well as college soccer. I came to the conclusion that WVU can still be as competitive as it has been in recent years in this new model. Once I came to that determination and understanding some of the other benefits, it was an easy yes and an easy thing for me to support.”