Courtesy of Brian Beard

This week, the men’s soccer team (1-0-1; 0-0 NESCAC) found its footing early in the season, tying Salve Regina (0-1-1) on Saturday and taking a commanding 3–1 victory over the University of New England (UNE) (2-1-1).

In both matches, the Polar Bears were the first to give up a goal, but starting down  didn’t stop the team from scoring later in the matches. Oliver King ’29, the goalkeeper, noted that the improvement from a one-goal tie to a three-goal comeback win between their first two games this season indicates a step in the right direction for the team.

“In the Salve [Regina] game, that didn’t go our way,” King said. “We expected to win, but in both games we fought through adversity. Both games we were down one-nothing; [we] didn’t have much time. Against Salve [Regina], we were only able to get a goal back, but last night against UNE, we were able to get three back, which shows our togetherness and our ability to fight the adversity, which is going to play a big role later in the season when we have to play these big-time NESCAC teams.”

The team is in a transitional period, having lost their top goal scorer of the 2025 season, Tyler Huck ’26. Furthermore, the pre-season was shorter than usual, and the first-year players weren’t with the team until the first week of classes. Nevertheless, King is confident that with diligent training focusing on technical ability and fitness, team cohesion will only continue to improve.

“We lost the best player in D3 soccer last year, so it’s definitely going to be tough finding goals from other people.” King said. “It’s going to take a collective, not just one person. It’s just going to come from everyone: from the forwards, from the wingers, from the midfielders. Our freshmen scored two last night, and Adam [Prince ’28] has two goals on the season, so we’ve already picked up the slack left from Huck.”

Scott Wiercinski, the head coach of the men’s soccer team, also emphasized the team’s improvement from game to game.

“Success is improvement. There can be a lot of distractions around winning and results, but if we can just improve a little bit each day, we will be a very good team by the end of the season,” Wiercinski wrote in an email to the Orient.

To achieve this growth, King emphasized the soccer team’s strong community across classes and how the team’s culture is reflected on the field.

“Being connected on the field brings a sense of togetherness, like brotherhood,” King said. “On the field, we stick together. When we fight, we go through adversity, we fight together and that makes us stronger as a unit.”

One value that unites the Polar Bears is how fundamental the sport of soccer is to each of their identities.

“It’s a beautiful game, right?” King said. “It’s the most popular game on Earth. Soccer is like a chess match. It’s slow, but when things happen, they really happen. There are only a few chances in a game, and those matter so much. It’s thrilling. And I’ve just played it for a while. We all have, so it’s part of who we are.”

Wiercinski commented similarly on the beauty of soccer’s intricacies.

“I love the geometry of the sport,” Wiercinski said. “The shapes, angles and spaces on offense and the competing angles, shapes and spaces on defenses are the tension that makes the sport so compelling for me.”

The Polar Bears will face off against Amherst (1-1-0; 0-1-0 NESCAC) this Saturday at Amherst College.