By McKenna DiRenzo

The Chatham University men’s soccer team is already making a name for itself on campus by earning its first regular season win in Erie against Alfred State College in a 3–0 victory. The team also won its home opener in a 2–0 win against the La Roche Red Hawks.

This is Chatham’s first year having a men’s soccer program, and the team is striving to start out strong. Keith Danley, who spent time coaching at the University of Scranton and Elmira College before coming to Chatham, is taking charge as coach for the opening season. He has been the
men’s soccer coach at the University for a year now.

“I was looking for that next step,” Danley said. “I wanted a school I could identify with, a school I would have wanted to go to, and Chatham fit the bill.”

Coaching at Chatham was a different experience for Danley compared to other schools that had a set program for men’s soccer.

“It was definitely a unique offer to try and build something right away, the way that you want it, compared to coming in and changing something that already exists,” he said.

Wyatt Cory ’23 (who also writes for the Communiqué) is a goalie and has a good feeling about the coming season, on and off of the field.

“I liked the challenge of coming to a brand-new team and starting from scratch,” he said. “Most of us started training back in June, so it’s great to be able to finally get out on the field and see our hard work pay off.”

Since the team doesn’t have much experience playing together, Cory stressed the importance of team chemistry on the field, as well.

“We have really good chemistry. Since it is a new team, there aren’t many
upperclassmen to take leadership roles, so it’s a lot of holding each other accountable.”

“We’re young,” Danley said. “We’re going to have ups and downs and it’s not always going to be perfect, and I think that’s the biggest thing.”

The next home game is 1 p.m. Sept. 14 at Ellis Field. Visit gochathamcougars.com to check out the full schedule.