Going into the 2023 season, the NCC men’s soccer team had one goal in mind: keep aiming higher. The team was coming off a successful 2022 campaign, where they won both the CCIW regular season and tournament title. The team also advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. With 30 players returning to the roster, the Cardinals were looking to continue their success into the upcoming season.
Soaring to new heights
Led by reigning CCIW coach of the year Enzo Fuschino, the Cardinals started their season ranked 20th in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. This ranking released before their first game against Baldwin-Wallace. The season started off incredibly for the Cardinals. They rattled off six straight wins before falling to Carleton 1-0. After that, the Cardinals wouldn’t lose a game the rest of the regular season. They also became the CCIW regular season champions for the second straight season. The Cardinals finished the regular season with a record of 15-1-2.
Postseason action
The Cardinals suffered a heartbreaker in their semifinal game in the conference tournament against Carthage. After going up 2-0 at halftime with a chance to move on to their third straight CCIW championship appearance, the Firebirds didn’t give up and scored two goals. This sent the game to overtime. The Firebirds tallied one more goal and went into the second half of overtime up 3-2.
Both teams traded goals, with a last-minute goal from Arthur Glinkin, ‘26, to give the Cardinals life but it wasn’t enough for the Cardinals. They fell 3-4 in overtime. However, the season wasn’t over for them just yet. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament to face the Blugolds of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium in Platteville, Wisconsin. The Cardinals fought hard and passionately throughout the game but came up short with a score of 1-2.
Looking ahead
Although the Cardinals finished the year sooner than they planned, it was still a tremendous season for the team. They were ranked as high as number four nationally by the United Soccer Coaches Association. This marked a new program best. The Cardinals also had six players honored by the CCIW. Jacopo De Collibus, ’26, earned his second straight First Team honors after being a force on the Cardinals’ higher offense throughout the season.
Westerberg, ’24, also retained First Team honors for the second year in a row to finish his college soccer career. Jack Fairwood, ‘24, and Edoardo Bonifacio, ‘26, were also named to the Second Team for their contributions to the Cardinals’ success. Tommaso Polidori, ‘27, won CCIW First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year and also obtained Second Team honors, while Davis Nelson, ‘25, received the CCIW Respect Award to round out the honors for the Cardinals. Although the ending was disappointing, there is a lot to look forward to as fans think ahead to 2024. The Cardinals will look to continue to fly higher.
