On Saturday, the NYU men’s soccer team finished its season with a 4-2-9 record, following a finale tie with Brandeis University. Despite the less than satisfying record, Violets told WSN that the season was a necessary learning opportunity. Marred by injuries and tough breaks, the team stayed strong and new players gained crucial experience on the field.

Heading into preseason, NYU replaced over half its squad. Despite the lack of experience together, graduate student forward Giulio Potenti felt that the team was competitive enough for a UAA championship. However, with what head coach Kim Wyant would call a “revolving door of injuries,” the expectations for the team’s season quickly changed. 

“You get two weeks of preseason, and you’re trying to integrate 16 new faces within a team, trying to teach them how to play the way the coaches at a new school want you to play,” Potenti said. “So that was a bit of a challenge. We tried to weather that as much as we could.”

Through the first 11 games of the season, NYU posted a 2-1-8 losing record. After falling short of preseason expectations, the Violets remained competitive in-game. Potenti credits high energy on the field to the team’s camaraderie. 

“Once things don’t go your way, it’s super easy to break apart or start blaming one another,” Potenti said. “We’re a very close-knit team. We spent a lot of time together off the field as well, which obviously impacts the way we perform on the field.”

Over the next four weeks, the Violets began to find the form they had expected earlier in the season with a win against Carnegie Mellon University at home, and then a landmark upset on the road against No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis. 

“It meant a lot just in terms of us knowing how much we could do,” senior defender Felix Dyckerhoff said. “It was also a bit of a bitter taste, because we just beat the number two team in the nation, which was our potential for the season.

Ahead of the final game of the season, seniors Felipe Remon, Terra Nagai and Dyckerhoff, and graduate student Ethan Zarka were honored for their leadership and contributions to the team. NYU leaned on them for structure and consistency this season, as they were first, second, third and fourth in minutes played this season.

“We’re looking to fill those holes in those voids: two center backs and two players who play more attacking roles that made good contributions,” Wyant said. “The exciting thing is that we got a lot of new players, a lot of valuable experience in minutes.”

Although recording wins was difficult at times, the team gained the key experience and chemistry needed for future runs. With most of the team returning for 2026, the Violets hope to take the experiences from this season and translate them to more on-field success and build towards their goal of winning the UAA.

“We’re a good team, and if we just have that as a goal and remember it each and every single day, it’s something super achievable,” Potenti said. “Winning a conference title is something you’ll remember forever, and it’ll bond us all together forever.”

Next season will be Wyant’s 12th as head coach, and she will be looking for her eighth postseason appearance. As her coaching staff prepare for next season, the overall fitness and health of the players have become a focus in preserving the team’s depth.

“I hope that they have learned some very valuable lessons from this year,” Wyant said. “The team knows that we are not far off at all, and we get to regroup in February and start over.”

Contact Naseem Rahman at [email protected].