Men’s soccer has been battling through preseason scrimmages and training toward the start of their regular-game season on Sep. 7, leading up to conference. After finishing 5-5 in the PacWest last season, the Golden Eagles are focused on making changes and putting in the work necessary to come out on top this Nov. 

Concordia soccer recently underwent coaching changes in the spring. Previous assistant coach, Erik Kirsch has been with men’s soccer since 2015 and has stepped up to fulfill the role of head coach this season. 

With this change in leadership, this team is doing what they can to surpass their opponents and shift focus to the team culture. Justin Nodarse, who is playing his fourth year with the Golden Eagles said, "We needed to rebuild our foundation on what we want to accomplish and what kind of legacy we want to achieve. We needed to set and establish a new standard through our program that echoes who we are. This meant that our trainings were specifically curated to help us become fit, play the brand of soccer we want to play and most importantly bond as a team.” 

This transition has helped motivate the Golden Eagles toward a commitment to excellence in all aspects. “Our preseason training this year has looked much different than it has before. We’ve been putting a huge emphasis on being in sync with each other both on and off the field,” said junior, Joseph Panetta. “Coach Kirsch has really been getting us dialed in and pushing us to believe that we really can achieve anything with this team.” 

Coach Kirsch is leading these men with faith and confidence in their talent and abilities. “The biggest thing that stands out about this team is our vision. From day one as a program, we had one goal in mind and that was to win a national championship and league. You can truly sense the belief from the entire program and the drive to make that happen,” said Nodarse. 

In his sixth season competing for the Golden Eagles, graduate student Wyatt Burris is leading as team captain. Nearing the end of their preseason scrimmages, Burris said, “The team did really well incorporating the things we’ve been drilling in training leading up to the games and it’s set up a great baseline for us to build off of for the games that count towards qualifying us for our postseason aspirations.” 

As the Golden Eagles come together and refine their play, Burris said, “Something that stands out with this team is the potential we have as a group and the work ethic guys are showing to be great and realize that potential.”

Men’s soccer capped off their scrimmages on Tuesday against Chapman and will look toward Sep. 7 for their home opener against The Master’s. 

Visit cuigoldeneagles.com for all men’s soccer and Concordia Athletics information and to review the full schedule.

Tags: Alexande Carr, Men's Athletics

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