RICHMOND, Va. - The Elon University men's soccer team was selected to finish first in the Coastal Athletic Association's South Division this season, as released by the conference Thursday. Additionally, Charlie Kitch, Majaliwa Msabaha and Colin Veltri earned Preseason All-CAA accolades.  
 

Elon topped the South Division poll, which was voted on by the league's head coaches, with 15 points. The defending regular season conference champions are coming off a 10-7-1 season in 2024. The Phoenix rose to as high as No. 10 in the national rankings after a 7-0-1 start and secured its second regular season crown in three seasons with a 6-2 mark in conference play. This is the first season with divisions for CAA soccer, with Elon slated to play the other four South Division teams twice in the regular season.  
 

Msabaha, a senior captain, made 17 starts for the Phoenix last season, logging 1,469 minutes. He is a two-time All-CAA performer (2022 and 2023) and has played 51 career games in his three seasons with the program. In 2024, Msabaha played the full 90 minutes on 13 occasions, including in each of Elon's final five tilts.  
 

In his debut campaign with the Phoenix in 2024, Veltri earned All-CAA Second Team honors despite only playing in the team's first eight matches. Even after missing Elon's final 10 games due to injury, Veltri finished second on the team in both goals (6) and points (15). He scored all six of his goals in a five-game span that started against Coastal Carolina on Aug. 29. During that stretch, he netted a pair of goals in Elon's 4-3 comeback victory at Delaware, including the game winner, and a tally at ACC opponent Wake Forest.  
 

Kitch was also a Second Team All-CAA selection in 2024 in his first season with the Phoenix. The defender made 15 starts, logging 1,144 minutes. He scored a pair of goals, including one in Elon's conference victory over Stony Brook. The junior also scored a goal versus Radford and added an assist in the team's season opener against Florida Gulf Coast.  
 

Elon opens its regular season with a road clash at UAB on Aug. 21. The Phoenix will play its first home match at Rudd Field on Aug. 25 against Old Dominion.  

2025 CAA Men's Soccer Preseason Poll 

 

Player	Team	Pos.	Class	Hometown
Matt Lenart	Charleston	F	Jr.	Falls Church, Va.
Colin Veltri	Elon	F	Sr.	Mays Landing, N.J.
Filipe Matos	Campbell	F	Jr.	Riachos, Portugal
Laurie Goddard	Hofstra	M	Sr.	London, England
Ezra White	Charleston	M	Sr.	Clemson, S.C.
Osei Gyamfi	UNCW	M	So.	Kumasi, Ghana
Jake Shannon	UNCW	D	Sr.	Apex, N.C.
Majaliwa Msabaha	Elon	D	Sr.	Randers, Denmark
Noah Gold	Charleston	D	Sr.	Germantown, Md.
Charlie Kitch	Elon	D	Jr.	Medford, N.J.
Olly Marshall	Charleston	GK	Sr.	Newcastle, England

 

Honorable Mentions: Victor Andersson (Monmouth), Ethan Newsome (UNCW), Lucas Caldas (William & Mary), Cesare D'Amico (UNCW), Jakob Friedman (Monmouth), Evans Dapaah (Campbell), Patrick Osiecki (Monmouth), Aidan Morrison (William & Mary), Ethan Kang (Northeastern), Gabriel Pacheco (Hofstra), Gavin Carmichael (UNCW), Evan Rabush (William & Mary), Trey Smiley (UNCW)