The 2024-25 NYU athletics season began this past weekend with five teams in action — men and women’s cross country, men and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. Four of the five teams ranked in the top 20 of their respective preseason polls, signaling a strong start for the Violets.
After a “wonderfully winning winter season” in 2024 — which included a NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship trophy — NYU finished its previous season fifth out of 322 D-III programs across the country.
Cross Country
NYU cross country finished second in both the men and women’s meets on Friday, Aug. 30, at the Vassar Season Opener in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Nine first-years made their debut in the No. 18 ranked men’s team in the 4K event, with seven finishing in the top 20 positions. First-year Asa Fletcher finished first for the Violets and seventh overall with a time of 12:42.2.
Sophomore Julian Aske ran a personal best 12:45.4 to place ninth overall, while first-year Huck Oakes followed one second behind in tenth.
Five first-years ran their first race for the No. 1 ranked women’s team.
First-year Grace Rowley finished fourth overall with a 10:59.6 time, and sophomore Virginia Nelson was right behind with a time of 11.05.9. In sixth and seventh, senior Katherine Cheng and first-year Stella Kuttner were separated by half a second. Junior Emily Castles ran a 11:17.3 and first-year Lindsay Guthrie a 11:18.0 to finish 12th and 13th, respectively.
The Violets travel back to Poughkeepsie on Saturday, Sept. 14 to compete in the Vassar Invite next.
Soccer
The men’s soccer team started their season off with a 7-0 win against Purchase College at the Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium in Newark, NJ on Sunday, Sept. 1.
Senior midfielder Ahmed Ibrahim scored the first goal for the Violets after a failed Purchase clearance put the ball in the path of Ibrahim, and slid it into the bottom left corner.
Junior Terra Nagai doubled the lead almost 25 minutes in, with sophomore Daniel Gutierrez playing a sweeping long ball over the top and down the left wing for Nagai to chase and roll past the keeper for an easy open-goal finish.
Senior Bryce Lexow was brought down in the box for a Violets penalty 18 minutes into the second half. Lexow stepped up to convert, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and making it 3-0.
NYU was awarded another penalty with 22 minutes left to play when senior Nathan Bennett was brought down. Lexow stepped up again and scored making it 4-0 for the Violets.
Bennett scored as well, after driving down the right hand side to the byline. At a narrow angle, his powerful shot brought up the score to five.
He doubled his account with 13 minutes left to play, again driving down the right hand side after a through ball from Ibrahim. Dancing past two defenders in the box, Bennett slid it into the left corner again for the Violets’ sixth goal.
Senior Ben Trask scored the Violets’ seventh from an over-the-top ball by Bennett which put Trask one-on-one with the Purchase goalkeeper.
The last time the men’s team put at least seven past any team was a 9-0 win against Hunter College in 2022. The team plays their next game against the University of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, NY on Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. They return to Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, to face Rutgers University-Camden.
The No. 10 ranked women’s soccer team also began its season over the weekend. The Violets traveled to California, where they took on Pomona-Pitzer on Friday, Aug. 30, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Sunday, Sept. 1.
On Friday, graduate student Riley Felsher kept her 14th career shutout, but was made to work for it, saving a career-high nine shots. The game ended as a goalless draw.
The Violets’ game on Sunday also finished scoreless, with Felsher keeping her 15th shutout against two Pomona-Pitzer shots on goal. Graduate student Maria Nolan had the best chance to break the deadlock in the 28th minute, forcing a finger-tip save from the goalkeeper.
The women’s team play back-to-back games next weekend, taking on Husson University at Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday, Sept. 7, and Stevens on Sunday, Sept. 8 in Hoboken, NJ.
Volleyball
The American Volleyball Coaches Association No. 6 ranked women’s volleyball team had a clean sweep of their season opener this past weekend, defeating University of Massachusetts Boston, St. Joseph’s University Long Island and Drew University in straight sets.
They kicked off the season at home at the Paulson gym, winning 25-21, 25-12 and 25-20 against UMass Boston on Friday. Sophomore Grace Nelson led in kills and blocks, 12 and three respectively. UMass Boston took the lead halfway through the third set, but Nelson bounced back with a 10-point run. Junior Ava Launsbach had four serves with no return during the streak.
The next day was just as successful for the Violets. SJULI put up a fight, but NYU took home straight sets to win, 25-15, 25-16 and 25-16. Another 12 assists from Launsbach, and 14 from senior Dominique Drust put NYU ahead.
The Violets served up a quick win the same afternoon. The Violets held the DU Rangers to low points, with the three sets going 25-14, 25-9 and 25-21. DU tied it up 20-20 in the third set, but a five-point streak, including two kills from first-year Chloe Hynes, gave NYU the win.
NYU travels to Kean University in Union, New Jersey, on Tuesday, Sept. 3 and on Saturday, Sept. 7, the team goes to Hoboken, New Jersey, to play Stevens and Manhattanville University. The Violets return home for its second home game against Bowdoin College on Sunday, Sept. 8.
Contact Jonathan Mak and Sidney Snider at [email protected].
