SAN MATEO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference announced their Men's Soccer All-Preseason Team on Wednesday, and two Gaels made the list in Louis Sterobo and Riley Lynch.
 
Lynch burst onto the scene last year for the Gaels when he played in all 18 games, starting 16 of them as a freshman. He was selected to the All-WCC Second Team and to the WCC All-Freshman Team at the end of last season. He tied for the team-lead in goals with three, which also tied him for 15th in the WCC.
 
The Chandler, Ariz. native flashed some serious speed and shiftiness on the pitch along with big time power in his leg. His 36 shots on the year were a team high and were seventh in the conference. Riley's 17 shots on goal also led the team while being second most in the WCC on the season. He had a team-high two game-winning goals last year, which came against UNLV and Gonzaga.
 
Sterobo Started 15 games for the Gaels in 2021 and was named All-WCC Second Team in his sophomore season. The Odense, Denmark native was third on the team in minutes with 1,263 and played a career high 110 minutes against San Francisco. Sterobo helped led the Gaels defense to eight shutouts last year. 
 
The WCC also released its preseason poll, and the Gaels were picked sixth in the conference standings, even though SMC finished tied for third in the final standings last season after going 4-2-1 in WCC play and 11-6-1 overall.

The Gaels will have two home exhibitions this season. The first on August 14 at 1:00 p.m. vs. Sonoma State and the second on August 19 at 1:00 p.m. vs. Stanislaus State, before opening the regular season at home versus Niagara University on August 25 at 1:00 p.m.
 
2022 WCC Men's Soccer Preseason Coach's Poll
Team (first-place votes) points
Portland (3) 43
Santa Clara (3) 42
Pacific (1) 38
LMU (1) 34
Saint Mary's 28
San Francisco 14
San Diego 13
Gonzaga 12
 
2022 WCC Men's Soccer Preseason Team
Jake Arteaga - UP - Gr. - M
Noel Caliskan - LMU - Sr. - M
Ryan Her - UOP - Gr. - M
Demetrius Kigeya, GON - Sr. - F
Riley Lynch - SMC - So. - F
Yazid Omri - UOP - Sr. - M
Damani Osei - SCU - Jr. - D
Dylan Shockey - LMU - Sr. - D
Louis Sterobo - SMC - Jr. - D
George Tasouris - UP - Gr. - GK
Oladayo Thomas - SCU - Sr. - F