Northeastern’s men’s club soccer team (5-0) is hitting the ground running this season, entering the preseason rankings at 18th nationwide by College Club Sports. The team is coming back from a group stage loss in the 2023 Club Soccer Nationals, and it’s ready for more this year.

The competitive spirit of the team is evident in its win tally, but what lies behind its success is the group’s close bond. Despite the short season, which lasts from Sept. 4 to its last regular season game on Oct. 13, the team’s leaders prioritize forging a community. 

According to captain Cameron Little, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, the closeness of the team makes a difference, “The chemistry on the team just goes up so much and we inadvertently play better together once we bond more,” Little said. 

Fourth-year health science major and fellow team captain Matthew Nikiciuk agreed.

“It’s a collective team effort, time and time again,” Nikiciuk said. “That’s what makes us so successful.”

The group is united by a deep-rooted love of soccer — many teammates started the game before they can even remember. 

“I pretty much just grew up playing. I think every picture of me was with a soccer ball, it was just something I did,” said fourth-year Juan Lazcano, an international affairs major. “It wasn’t really a decision.” 

Fourth-year Nicolas Lopez, a business administration major, discovered a love for soccer while traveling in Barcelona at 5 years old, and he hasn’t stopped playing since.

“I remember there was a Barcelona game going on,” Lopez said. “Messi had just scored and I could just hear the whole crowd erupt. Since then I have always loved it.”

Tryouts for the team are fiercely competitive, spanning three days starting Sept. 7th with around 150 students in attendance. 

“I didn’t really know the level here,” said Connor Mulderig, a second-year mechanical engineering major. “I was kind of shocked that first day of tryouts.”

Many of the current players did not make it their freshman year, but continued to refine their skills outside of the team — coming back stronger the following year. 

“Part of why our quality is so high is because even if the players don’t make the team they can come back next year, [after] getting more playing experience from pick-up,” Little said. 

That commitment carries on once students make the official roster, bringing high-level dedication to each practice in part driven by coach Benjamin Fargiano.

“It’s pretty fluid between coaches and captains because they are just past players and so we’ve already bonded before,” Little said. Nikiciuk added, “Senior-level guys on the team really take part in doing practices [and] scheduling events”

“At the end of the day it is a club, so it’s up to us to bring the energy and the level and the commitment,” Lazcano said. “Everyone who does make the team understands that. Everyone fights for a spot. Everyone loves to compete.” 

With eight new players and a short season, every game counts. 

“We start a lot later than other schools. Our season is squeezed into three and a half weeks, so we have to get the new players on,”  Lopez said. “It’s a very tight-knit group. Everyone just wants to see each other get better and it’s all just working toward that one goal.”

The Huskies started off the season hot, notching a five-game winning streak against Bryant University, Merrimack University, Tufts University and Babson University twice — but the matchups are only expected to get more competitive. As the team prepares to face Boston College on Oct. 4 and Boston University on Oct. 12, “We just want to keep that momentum and if we can, just smashing teams,” Lopez said. “We want to be beating them by a lot.” 

The season opener against Bryant University ended in a winning 2-1 score, but the goals came with only 10 minutes left on the clock. The team rallied to achieve what seemed like an unlikely win in the moment. 

“We came in knowing they’d be pretty good but expecting to win. We had a lot of chances, but we couldn’t convert any,” Mulderig said. “We were down one nothing. We kept pushing and found an equalizer with 10 minutes left and then with [two] minutes to go, we scored a winner.”

 “Stuff like that, you never forget it,” Lopez said, referring to the Bryant University win. 

The team is intensifying practices and workouts to prepare for the rest of the season, according to third-year Brennan Bezdek, a mechanical engineering and physics combined major.

“We’re getting ourselves ready physically and mentally to take on the best teams — BU, BC — it’ll definitely ramp up,” Bezdek said.

As the season continues barreling forward, the Huskies have one major priority: nationals. The top two teams in the division advance to regionals, including select wild card bids. For nationals, teams must win their bracket or secure a wildcard spot. Last year was the team’s first time qualifying for nationals in more than a decade, and the team is looking to start a streak for Northeastern. Nationals will be held in Round Rock, Texas, Nov. 23.

“The expectation is that we go to regionals, and the main goal is qualifying for nationals again,” Mulderig said.

Last year, Northeastern lost on a goal differential in the group stages of nationals. This time around, returning players are motivated to flip the script.

“I want to make nationals,” Lopez said. “I want to do better than we did last year, pick up some wins and really progress there.”

For Bezdek, the 2023 nationals was a trip back to his home state of Texas.

“I got to go home and have my parents there, it was a great memory to go to nationals and I hope we do it again,” he said.

For many fourth- and fifth-year players on the team, this season marks their last chance to play soccer on this level, and they’re looking to set the standard for the future of the team. 

“I think it’s been great just seeing how these younger guys have stepped up and the new class that was just brought in,” Lopez said. “I feel really good about the future for them.”

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