A very young VMI men's soccer team showed improvement under first-year head coach Nick Regan in 2022. The Keydets opened the campaign with a 2-2 tie at St. 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, the first time the Keydets had recorded back-to-back clean sheets since the 2008 season against Appalachian State and Radford University. The Southern Virginia victory was the first as a head coach for Regan.

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 UNCG, the SoCon Champion and an NCAA Tournament Quarterfinalist, 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, falling just 2-1. The VMI defense was again stingy, allowing just two goals or less for the 10^th time in 17 matches.

Senior Nathan Lam had two goals and four assists while sophomore Grant Martin had three goals and one assist. Senior Gabe Calhoun 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).

Quotes From Head Coach Nick Regan:

I am incredibly proud of what this team was able to achieve this season. On Day One, I challenged the players to embrace what it means to be a part of VMI men's soccer: we have to be the fittest, toughest, and most disciplined team in the league, and most importantly to not forget what we represent as an Institute every time we cross that white line.

The 2-2 tie away at St. Peters, on the first day of the season, set the tone for what was to come. Overall, it was a highly competitive season. Defensively we were difficult to break down, back-to-back shut outs for the first time since 2008, making an Elite 8 UNCG team go through hell and back to get a 1-0 win over us on Patchin, and taking the game to teams such as Furman and Mercer in the Play-Offs, incredibly tight 2-1 games. 

The perception of VMI men's soccer changed this season. Our job now is to build on that momentum and ensure we have sustained progress over the next few years. I am committed to making that happen and I am excited to get back to work with the group this Spring.