For the first time since 2019, the NYU men’s soccer team started its season with three losses in a row.
The Violets lost 4-3 to Rowan University in the season opener, fell 3-2 in the last 10 minutes to Vassar College and were bested 2-1 by Stockton University on Monday night.
“I think the way we’re losing is most defeating,” said Terra Nagai, Tandon senior and co-captain of the team. “These are games that, honestly, we should be winning. They are good opponents, but I think we keep shooting ourselves in the foot with smaller mistakes, either individually or communication. What we’ve been seeing on film, it’s things we can change. Spirits are still high.”
In all three games thus far, NYU has conceded the first goal, and five of the nine total goals conceded were scored in the first 20 minutes of each match. Against Rowan, the Violets were down 2-0 after just seven minutes played. It took Vassar 19 minutes to match that feat just two days later.
“We felt that we were super vulnerable on restarts, defensive free kicks and defensive corners,” Kim Wyant, who just began her 11th season as head coach, told WSN. “Almost 60% of our goals last year came on those plays where the national norm is 42%.”
It could be chalked up to the fact that the Violets lost 10 seniors, including last season’s top scorer, Bryce Lexow. Wyant added 16 new faces to the squad, which included seven undergraduate transfers and three graduate students.
“It’s a new team, but it shouldn’t be that way,” said team co-captain and CAS senior Felix Dyckerhoff. “It’s all mental — if you want it or not, if you’re ready for the first whistle — that’s something we have to change. We have to dig deep. I don’t have a big answer, but that’s something we are very aware of and we have to fix.”
The team has shown some grit and moments of success, however, as players shook off Rowan’s two-point lead by equalizing the score before half-time — Nagai finished off a team move, followed by graduate student Ethan Zarka’s direct free kick from just outside the box.
Rowan then scored two goals after the break, forcing NYU back to square one. The Vassar match was similar — but this time, Nagai tucked away a penalty and Zarka scored another free kick to balance the tie. They conceded the winning goal with seven minutes left off of a corner.
“It’s D-III soccer — if you don’t start strong, the other team will take advantage of it,” Dyckerhoff said. “The biggest thing is that we have to keep belief. This group we have is super talented, and there’s so much we can do.”
According to Zarka, the team still aims to make it to the nationals this season — the Violets have never made it past the second round of the tournament.
Zarka graduated from the University of Charleston, which is home to a program Wyant called a “perennial contender for a national title.” After sitting out his first season of collegiate soccer due to injury, Zarka was allowed to make up the year at NYU.
“There was a big part of not knowing if I was able to play or not,” Zarka said. “I got cleared a week before I got here. It took a lot of paperwork, a lot of doctor’s appointments, but I’m so grateful and so excited.”
The graduate student made an immediate impact, scoring two goals in the first two games, and has become the set piece taker for the squad.
Despite the talent Wyant has brought to New York City, the team still needs time to gel. But time is not on NYU’s side — its first conference match against the University of Chicago is less than a month away.
“One thing we haven’t done is hit the panic button,” Wyant said. “We’ve got to stay totally focused during the entire match, because we’re having these moments and it’s costing us. But we’re not being outplayed … We know that we have a very, very solid group and we can correct these mistakes.”
Contact Jonathan Mak at [email protected].
