As the student-athletes of Case Western Reserve University enter a new year, the men’s soccer team find themselves at a turning point. Following a 7-5-5 2025 season that saw the squad miss the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year, the team is looking forward to a fresh start as they work to reach the tournament and beyond.
During this past offseason, the team has been putting in the work at practice, establishing strong connections between one another while helping bring newer players into the fold.
“The start of the year is always one of the most exciting times because everyone has put so much work in during the offseason and over the summer, and now we finally have the opportunity to get after it together as a group,” fourth-year midfielder and co-captain Sean Wilson said. “We’re the only ones who know how much time and effort we’ve put in to get to this point, so we’re trying to block out the outside noise and focus on ourselves.”
Fourth-year defender and fellow co-captain Cormac Apostolides is similarly excited about the state of the team going into the new season.
“I think this team’s biggest strength is its resilience,” Apostolides said. “The relationships that we have built on and off the field are a key component of the team’s core values, and they create an environment where we work together to respond to challenges where most teams would fracture.”
This past season saw the team graduate six seniors, including a number of key players from past squads such as goalkeeper Bradley Winter and forward Stephen Vilardo. While the loss of these players is certainly felt, the team looks to build upon the progress established in past years with help of the new players on the team: nine first-years in addition to new graduate and transfer students. Forging this new roster into a cohesive squad will be vital as the team faces the inherent pressures of a long season, though Apostolides is optimistic about the team’s chances.
“This team has been injected with energy by a strong nine-person freshman class and three other additions to the team. This talented, driven group mixes well with our experienced players,” Apostolides said. “On the field, this allows us to produce moments of magic and moments of grit.”
Among the challenges for the squad this season is, as Wilson put it, the ones they give themselves. He took note of how everyone on the team has high expectations for each other, while also holding one another accountable to meet those standards every day. At the same time, he and his teammates see those challenges as a privilege given how the opportunity to compete at a collegiate level is not something available to everyone.
“There will obviously be adversity throughout a long season, whether that comes from tough opponents, injuries, or difficult stretches of games, but I think those moments are also opportunities for us to grow,” Wilson said.
When all is said and done, everyone on the team hopes to fulfill goals laid out both for themselves and the team as a whole. Wilson reflected on the games that he was looking forward to the most.
“[The game against] John Carroll University is always a game that I look forward to because they’re our cross-town rivals, and there’s always an extra level of excitement and energy surrounding that matchup,” Wilson said. “I’m really looking forward to all of our [conference] games because we get to compete against some of the best teams in Division III. A number of those teams are ranked in the preseason, so those games will be a great opportunity for us to prove ourselves against some of the best competition in the country.”
With a mix of seasoned veterans and eager newcomers, this year’s squad is ready to forge its own identity and represent CWRU to the best of their ability on the pitch. They will have their first opportunity to show what they’re capable of on Tuesday, Sept. 1 as they host Ohio Wesleyan University for a 7:30 p.m. match at DiSanto Field.