After a disappointing 2024 season, the Case Western Reserve University men’s soccer team looks to bounce back from their struggles. 

The previous season saw CWRU finish with a 5-5-6 record—down from the 10-3-4 record they achieved during both the 2023 and 2022 seasons. The team also failed to win a single game against a UAA opponent, finishing conference play with a 0-3-4 record. As a result, the Spartans failed to qualify for a third-consecutive NCAA tournament after having qualified in 2022 and 2023.

Taking note of this is fourth-year goalkeeper and co-captain Bradley Winter, who has been around to witness CWRU’s successes and struggles over the past three seasons. Winter expressed his excitement and optimism about the upcoming season in spite of the Spartans’ lackluster showing last season.

“We’ve got a group of young, talented guys along with a couple of veterans returning, which should be a good combination heading into the fall,” Winter said. “I’m definitely ready to get back to work after our largely unsuccessful campaign last year…We’ve got a tough schedule ahead, both out of conference and in the UAA, but this should prepare the guys well for the season.”

The upcoming season’s roster will consist of only a handful of Spartans who played during the squad’s 2023 NCAA tournament run, including Winter and fourth-year midfielder Camden Larson. Conversely, the roster consists of nine first-years: midfielders Aydin Sumer, Micah Rossen and Raj Chitre, defenders Maximilian Majewski, Milo Stehling, Gavin Trosch and Alex Eby, forward Ethan Barr and goalkeeper Carter Shedd, who will all be making their collegiate debuts this fall. Winter notes the high potential of this new Spartan talent to perform strongly in conjunction with returning players thanks to the efforts of the team during the past spring and summer.

“[We have] got a very tight group right now after having worked with the freshman all summer via mentor groups and through the time that the returning guys spent together into the spring,” Winter said. “I think this bodes well for the team heading into the season.”

Despite the addition of a talented first-year class, the Spartans will still face obstacles this season. Key third-year defenders Cormac Apostolides and Cameron Thayer, both crucial contributors in recent years, are sidelined with long-term injuries. On top of that, the team faces a grueling schedule, with matchups nearly every Saturday and several weekends featuring multiple games.

“This can be a lot on the guys’ legs so we will need to rely on everyone in the group to push through and get results,” Winter said.

Nonetheless, there is still a lot to look forward to in this upcoming season. Winter, for one, reiterates his confidence in this year’s team and beyond.

“We’ve got a lot of young, talented players who are also awesome people that will play pivotal roles for this program over the next few years,” Winter said. “I think it will be exciting to see how this plays out across the season and I’m hoping for a lot of success for our team.”

Notable opponents on the Spartans’ schedule include Kenyon College, who the team last faced in 2022 in a 0–4 defeat. In UAA play, CWRU will square off against familiar rivals such as the University of Rochester, who edged the Spartans 3–2 last season, and Carnegie Mellon University, with whom they battled to a 2–2 draw.

“I’d like to right the ship and beat [Kenyon] this year,” Winter said. “I also know they’re a very talented out of conference team so a win against them would be massive. Rochester and Carnegie Mellon are both games that I’m specifically excited for due to the results last year. I think everyone on our team would like to beat them, in addition to everyone else in the UAA. Every UAA game is a dogfight, though, so we will be up for the challenge and I look forward to all of those games.”

The men’s soccer team will begin play on Friday, Aug. 29, when they travel to Steubenville, Ohio for a match against Franciscan University of Steubenville at 7 p.m.