The Bison men’s soccer team will be taking the field on Feb. 27 in a match against Navy. The game will be held in Annapolis, MD at the Naval Academy. The team had a great 2019 season with a record of 6-7-7. Unfortunately, this year men’s soccer has lost seven key players to graduation in 2020 – Bernie Wright, Quinn Bredin, Patrick Mahoney, Nick King, Dany Teran, Daniel Hallowell and Emmett Witmer. With the struggles that 2020 has presented the team is excited to start their 2021 season.

Despite the departures, the Orange and Blue remain a strong team. Midfielder Matt Thorsheim ’21 was selected to preseason All-Patriot League team for the third time in his career. In addition to Thorsheim, forward Patrick O’Hara ’22 will look to contribute after a season in which he had 5 goals. Luke Smith ’23 is also returning as the Bison’s goalkeeper. Smith started 13 matches last season and made many impressive saves for the Bison.

Men’s soccer is also excited to finally experience a season with their new teammates as they gain 10  new skilled players: David Adegborioye, Braeden Glass, MJ Kuczura, Marco La Schiazza, Jordan Miller, Collin Murphy, Samir Nouri, Tyler Okin, Matthew Owusu and Sebastian Paz.

“I am both excited and grateful that our team will have the opportunity to play this season. We have worked extremely hard and shown considerable perseverance in the face of a once in a lifetime situation. We feel confident that we can bring home a Patriot League championship this season and look forward to getting started at Navy on the 27th,” Cody Wax ’21 said.

O’Hara echoed Wax’s excitement for returning to the field: “We are all very excited to be back on the field. It has been a long time since we were able to compete so we’re really looking forward to it. The most challenging aspect has been maintaining focus and motivation when we have nothing to prepare for so the upcoming season has given us a tangible goal which I think is really important for us,” O’Hara said.

The Bison have eight tentative games planned for their 2021 season. Their competition will consist of Lafayette, Loyola, Lehigh, American and Colgate.