NEWBERG, Ore. -- With 13 returners on the 2022 roster and 15 new faces joining the squad, second-year coach Paul Karver will have plenty of raw material to work with in reshaping the men's soccer program this year.

After an abrupt transition to then-interim coach Karver for the 2021 season, Fox managed a 6-12 record overall with four Northwest Conference victories and two shutout wins. The Bruins also fielded their first All-Conference player since the 2018 season in 2021 and were able to improve their team wins, scoring margin, and total goals scored from their last full season in 2019.

"Last year was a great jumping off point for us," Karver said. "There's a lot of growth that happened [and] we want to build on that growth and we understand that in order for us to be successful, we need to focus on the journey, focus on the relationships, and the moments that are between matches because that's going to allow us to be successful at the end of the day."

That success this year will flow from marrying the Bruins' returning talent with its newest members and getting the freshmen started on solid footing for the collegiate level of play.

Josh Chang, Connor Kong, and Kyle Revell are all back as offensive weapons that Coach Karver can deploy up top and in the midfield, and the back line has a veteran presence shaped by captain Jamie O'Connell and a winter NCAA D-II transfer, Ryan McCord.

Karver will fill the remaining starting spots and reserve rotation with rising players like Robert Rodarte, Brennan Martin, and Payton Fukeda and the freshmen class.

"It's hard to pick one guy [from the freshmen who will be an immediate impact player]," Karver said. "They're going to be great players and every single one of them is going to have a chance to prove themselves as we get into things."

Home field advantage should also factor into the equation this season as the Bruins host 12 of their 20 contests in Newberg.

After opening the season with exhibition matches against University of Fraser Valley (CAN) and Warner Pacific, Fox will start its countable game slate with a road test at Bushnell on Sept. 1 before welcoming Multnomah to Austin Sports Complex on Sept. 3 at 7:30 pm. The Bruins' remaining non-conference slate will include La Verne on Sept. 10 and UC Santa Cruz on Sept. 11 before Northwest Conference play begins.

"The strength of schedule is going to be great. And a big part of that [is] when we get to play SCIAC teams like La Verne [and] UC Santa Cruz, which we did last year. And now we really get a good measuring stick – what have we done? How have we grown since that moment last year on the same weekend?"

Fox will face the 'Whits' to start its NWC schedule with away games against Whitman on Sept. 17 and Whitworth on Sept. 18 before playing its first home NWC match on Sept. 24 against Yamhill County rival, Linfield. The Bruins will end the regular season at home with their senior day matchup against Pacific (Ore.) on Nov. 5 with a 2:30 kickoff.

Live coverage for home and away games will be linked on the Bruins' schedule page.