The Chatham University men’s soccer team wrapped up its regular season, and the players have their eyes set on making program history in the postseason.
Since the men’s soccer team’s inaugural season in 2019, the program has yet to win a game in the playoffs.
“It’s something that I’ve been chasing since I got here,” team captain and graduate student Anthony Quidachay said. “We want to make a statement and get the win, no matter who we play against.”
The Cougars finished their Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) play with a 4-2-4 record, and the team believes this is the year the program can finally get a win on its third trip to the postseason.
“I think we really believe this year,” head coach Keith Danley said. “The group has a really strong belief. I think they’re really united as a group, and I think that’s really been fun to work with for myself.”
The athletes on the men’s soccer team have found success this season rallying around one another. Whether it’s for blocking a shot or scoring a goal, every member of the team is cheering for their teammates.
“We really wanted to be a team that’s tight-knit and together,” Quidachay said. “It’s been great from the guys that are on the bench, at any point in the game, you know, kind of bringing that energy, and it’s nice to see it all coming together. We feel like we’re as close as we’ve been throughout the whole season, and we definitely need that same energy carrying into the playoffs.”
This team-first mindset is something the coaching staff believes will be the reason this squad can finally find postseason success.
“We’re all part of it,” Danley said. “It’s 28 guys, and everyone’s just as important as the next, and we need that group and have that mindset as we go into the playoffs.”
While this team-oriented game has given the Cougars success, it’s not without individual success either. Azavier Coppin ‘27 continues to rewrite the record books each time he finds the back of the net. The striker owns the program record for career goals and currently sits at 24 tallies in his blossoming Chatham career.
The team has 13 first-year students on the roster, and the focus inside the locker room has been fostering a supportive culture.
“We really wanted to focus on making sure that all the new guys felt included,” Stephen Comeaux ‘25 said. “We all love each other, we are a family, we are a brotherhood and like having a good relationship off the field, that directly translates to what happens on the field.”
Comeaux is unable to play on the field this season due to complications from tearing his ACL in his second game last year, but he is still leading the team off the field as the team’s other captain.
The Chatham men’s soccer team is the newest team to join the PAC, and one of the youngest with only three upperclassmen on the squad. Securing a playoff victory would be a step in the right direction in continuing to grow the program.
“We have a really unique opportunity to build something, to build a program,” Quidachay said. “I try to emphasize that it’s a really unique opportunity in college soccer. And I think the guys have bought into wanting to make a statement and make their marks in the program. And I think that’s been a big mentality shift for us going forward.”
The fate of the Cougars will be decided on Oct. 30 when Allegheny College squares off with Saint Vincent College. Chatham currently sits in fourth place in the PAC, and the Cougars will host a playoff game if Allegheny draws or loses against Saint Vincent.
“It’s going to be hard,” Danley said. “We’re going to play a lot of good teams. Anyone that we may face [since] we’re still waiting to figure that out. But we believe in ourselves, believe that if we execute what we’re capable of, I’ll take our group against anyone.”
If the team hosts a postseason match, it’s excited to feed off the energy brought by Chatham students.
“We always love when the students come out and support us,” Quidachay said. “They bring the energy, too, we’ve seen it before. So, we know that they can replicate it for us and bring the energy and we feed off of it. Honestly, the more that we see fans, the better it makes us play, in my opinion.”
While making program history winning a single playoff game would be big, the team still has its eyes set on a championship.
“If we are able to win our first playoff game, that would be a huge success,” Comeaux said. “But ultimately our goal is to win a PAC Championship and I believe we are going to be able to do that.”
