VMI men’s soccer improved in 2022 under Nick Regan, head coach, in a season that included wins against Southern Virginia University (1-0) and Mary Baldwin University (2-0).—Photo courtesy VMI Keydets.
A very young VMI men’s soccer team showed improvement in 2022 under Nick Regan, first-year head coach.
The Keydets opened the campaign with a 2-2 tie at Saint Peter’s University, an outstanding start to the season.
VMI posted wins against Southern Virginia (1-0) and Mary Baldwin (2-0) Universities in late September. It was the first time the Keydets had recorded back-to-back clean sheets since the 2008 season against Appalachian State University and Radford University. The Southern Virginia victory was Regan’s first win as a head coach.
The Keydets gave up just 11 goals in conference play, the fewest allowed since the 2006 season when VMI was in the Big South Conference and the least in SoCon play since 1982. VMI allowed 41 goals overall, compared to 72 a year ago.
The Keydets played the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the SoCon champion and an NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist; the game was very tough in a narrow 1-0 loss in Lexington in early October.
VMI capped the season by nearly pulling off a first-round upset at third-seeded Mercer University before falling just 2-1.
The VMI defense was again stingy, allowing just two goals or less for the 10th time in 17 matches.
Nathan Lam ’23 had two goals and four assists, while Grant Martin ’25 had three goals and one assist. Gabe Calhoun ’23 started 15 of 17 games in net and made 84 saves, tying for eighth in the nation and ranked fifth in saves per game (5.6).
