St. Joe’s men’s soccer welcomes nine freshmen

With the turn of the fall semester, the men’s soccer team welcomes a host of freshmen making the athletic and academic transition to college. All of them are eager to make a splash on Hawk Hill.

With nine freshmen, the class of 2022 has the largest class on the team. For a fairly large group who has only been together a short period of time, the close knit, family atmosphere is evident.

“Obviously the transition was hard, but things are different here,” forward Bryce Wallace said. “I’ve only known these guys for like three weeks and so far the bond that we’ve created is just a lot stronger than anything created in high school. We do everything together. The friendships that we’ve created here already feel like they’re going to last a long time.”

Midfielder Chris Ogden agreed.

“It’s hard coming into a group not knowing anybody and in the end it definitely all worked out, but it was a tough first few weeks,” Ogden said.

The challenging transition that Wallace and Ogden spoke of was not lost on the rest of the group. For any freshman, college is a different world than high school. Adding athletics to the mix only makes the learning curve steeper.

“It’s a different mindset when you’re in practice,” goalie Joseph Boehm said. “You’re learning, but it’s not the same as trying to retain definitions. That mental transition and managing time is difficult.”

Adjusting to heightened academic responsibilities with free time is difficult enough in itself, but as freshmen, they must also fine-tune their athletic skills to compete at the Division I level.

“Probably the biggest adjustment is the speed of play on the field, and also having three trainings a day for two and a half weeks,” midfielder Alec Ghodsi said. “At first your body is exhausted, but after about a week, you get your second wind and get used to the pace of play.”

For many, this necessary transition is just another step towards their ultimate goal.

“In college, the speed of the game’s faster and everybody that’s playing, their goal is to go pro and it’s getting you ready to go to that next level,” said forward Frantz Pierrot. 

After finishing their first grueling preseason, however, that goal may seem far away. The freshmen were welcomed to college with a timed two mile run on the first day of their preseason.

“I went on a lot of runs during the summer outside because I knew it was going to be hot during the preseason,” said defenseman Johnny Cunningham.

With their first preseason finally behind them, the group can now turn their focus to doing anything to accomplish what is directly in front of them: starting off the season and their collegiate careers strong.

“As freshmen, our goal is to make a big impact on this year and on the future,” defenseman Scott Woodington said. “We have to push the upperclassmen, get the best out of them and just do us.”

Midfielder Garrett Lyons agreed, pointing to the thrill of finally getting to play at St. Joe’s as a motivating factor.

“I’m truly excited to finally get to play a game at Sweeney Field in front of everyone that comes out to support,” Lyons said. “I’ve heard a lot of stories of how big the crowd can get here so it should be fun.”

The big game atmosphere Lyons alluded to is not far from the minds of the rest of the freshmen. With City 6 games nearing, they are eager to compete for the title of best team in Philadelphia.

This is defenseman James McCombs’ favorite part of being on a Philadelphia team.

“The big rivalries,” McCombs said. “There’s a lot of schools in Philly so when we get to play LaSalle, Drexel, or Villanova its really good for us because we get hyped up for a lot of games, so it’s a lot fun.”

As a group, the freshmen are anxious to prove they belong, not only to the rest of Philadelphia, but all of the Atlantic 10 as they embark on their college careers.