An overhauled men’s soccer tackles steep learning curves and stiff competition

Bearcats face off against the Lutes on Oct. 20, 2024. Photo by Keenan Yoshizawa.

Willamette’s men’s soccer team has had a rough start to the season. As of Oct. 8, they held an overall record of 1 win, 5 losses, and 5 ties, which marks their worst first eleven matches points-wise since 2008; however, that record doesn’t tell the whole story.

What the record doesn’t show is that men’s soccer gets an average of 10 shots per game and has scored 12 goals in 11 games played.

“We are losing games that are winnable,” assistant coach Jett Starr said of the season. “We are playing in a way that’s winnable. Eventually, if we keep doing the right things, then the results are a byproduct.”

The team’s record also doesn’t show that there are 18 new players this season, 15 of whom are first-years. For any team, the learning curve that comes with such a roster overhaul and a squad that’s over 50% first-years will be steep — and that struggle definitely rings true for men’s soccer. 

“It’s been a lot of learning. It’s a lot of trying to figure out who’s good at what, what roles everybody is playing, and how to actually play college soccer,” said Starr.

There is a substantial jump between high school and club soccer compared to the college level: “You end up being 18 playing 22-year-olds who are just going to smack [the ball] at you and then truck you,” Starr explained. The focus of the first half of the season has been about integrating all the new players into the college soccer world. 

“It’s all those little things,” Starr added, “like how hard you work in training, that [the Willamette players] are very good at, and eventually those [skills] just build and grow.” 

This learning curve was most evident in the Bearcats’ match against defending conference champions Pacific Lutheran on Sept. 27, the final result a 3-3 tie. Willamette scored first in the 39th minute of the game, courtesy of Ky Iliev (’29), but less than a minute later gave up a penalty kick, making it easy for the Lutes to tie it up. After halftime, another penalty was given to the opposing team, and the Lutes were up by one goal, but Willamette soon equalized again with a goal from Rory McKee (’27). Pacific Lutheran won a free kick and scored their third goal of the game, only to have their lead canceled out in the 76th minute by Lorenzo Trejo De Dios (’26) through what would be the final goal of the game. Although the Bearcats came back to tie, all of Pacific Lutheran’s goals came from simple fouls committed by Willamette in dangerous areas of the field. The Bearcats dominated in possession and overall skill, but simple mistakes cost them a win. 

Now that the season has hit the midway point and things are getting solidified, each player is working to understand their role and what they have to do in order to create a successful team on and off the field. While the record fails to show the uphill battle of an overhauled roster, the players and coaches head into the last half of the season with a plan and optimism for the future. 

Over the weekend of Oct. 11-12, the Bearcats defeated Lewis & Clark 1-0 after out-shooting them 22-4, then drew Pacific 1-1 after out-shooting them 8-3. At the time of publishing, they will have faced George Fox at home, who they tied last month after playing down a man for over half an hour.