2023 was a historic season for the Colorado College men's soccer team. It was a season that the program hadn't seen in 31 years: an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance, a SCAC regular season title and a 15-3-3 record. However, the Tigers' eyes are set on 2024. 
 
CC opens the new season on Friday, August 30^th, against Fontbonne University at Stewart Field. The Tigers host a series of teams over Labor Day weekend, including Fontbonne, Austin College and Concordia-Moorhead University. The Tigers take on the Griffins to kick off the weekend and then play Concordia on Saturday at 7 p.m. 
 
The Tigers will wait until SCAC play to face off against the 'Roos. 
 
10 Years At the Helm
 
Head coach Scott Palguta enters his 10th season at the program's helm. He currently sits second with 107 all-time wins and has the best winning percentage in program history (.708). 
 
Palguta has led CC to two NCAA Tournament appearances and two SCAC regular season titles. He was named the 2023 SCAC Coach of the Year. He has won the award twice in his career. 
 
Returning & Reloading
 
CC returns eight players who started 14 games or more in 2023, including four who started all 21 matches. 
 
The senior class is stacked with experience and skill that Palguta will rely on to lead the team on the pitch. Senior captains Curtis Hale and Alexandar Ward return to the lineup. The pair has combined for 120 starts and 78 points. 
 
Ward is 27th all-time in program history in career goals with 20 and 28th with 56 career points. In 2023, he was named an All-SCAC Second Team selection, the first all-conference nod of his career. He tied for first in the program with 17 points and led the team with eight assists. 
 
Hale is coming off a historic season of his own. The Richmond native was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. He earned an All-SCAC First Team selection and a United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III Men's All-Region X First Team selection. 
 
The senior was the leader of the CC defense, which was second-best in the SCAC in terms of goals against average. 
 
SCAC Champs
 
CC is picked to finish first again in the conference after the SCAC Preseason Coaches' Poll was announced on Aug 22nd. The Tigers received 134 points, including six first-place votes. 
 
In 2023, the Tigers went a perfect 8-0 in SCAC play, the first time in program history that the Tigers went unbeaten and untied in league play. 
 
2024 SCAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Colorado College – 134 (6)
2. Trinity – 130 (2)
3. St. Thomas – 118 (3)
4. Texas Lutheran – 106
5. Southwestern – 103
6. Concordia – 85
7. Austin College – 65
8. Ozarks – 61 (1)
9. Centenary – 38
     Schreiner – 38
11. McMurry – 33
12. Dallas - 25
 
First-Year Threats
 
The Tigers welcomed four first-year players to the 2024 roster: Will Jones, Griffin Scott, Jaime McFarland and Teddy Opler. 
 
All four players are either All-State selections or state champions during high school. Griffin Scott won the Oregon 6A state title with Jesuit High School, McFarland was a 2024 FHSAA All-State first-team selection, and Jones was named a Colorado 4A First Team All-State selection in 2023.
 
Opler was an all-state selection and was named the 2024 Wyoming Gatorade Player of the Year.