The men’s soccer season came to a close on Oct. 30, losing a close-fought game with a score of 2-1 against Bethany College. Here is a look back at the team’s hopes for the season and what motivated them to reach the postseason. 

Since the introduction of the Chatham University’s men’s soccer team, they’ve been on a continuous rise. 

Its success has been largely attributed to a strong frontline led by Ryan Tahbaz ’22 and a defense powered by Ken Richard ’22. This is the Cougar’s best season yet and has encouraged a belief that the time to win was now.

“I think we have all the tools,” said Tahbaz, one of three seniors on the team graduating in the spring. “Both players, coaches, athletic talent, technical talent, we have all the tools necessary to win the PAC.”

Even though the team has only gone through two years of recruitment since his first year, Tahbaz sensed the team taking a huge leap. “We’ve already done the unthinkable. Competing at the level required to win, we’re at this level.”

Men’s soccer intended to win PACs and complete its underdog story of a team that was formed just a couple years ago. 

But for Richard, motivation to leave it all on the field this season lay in the realization that this could have been the peak of his career. 

“It’s like now or never. Because we’re going to be done, we’re not going pro, we’re not going to continue to play soccer after this,” Richard said. 

And while his life-long career is coming to an end, Richard didn’t see a shortcoming this year as a failure. 

“No, it’s not a failure. The past two years our records were losing records. We didn’t make the playoffs,” Richard said. “From that perspective, even if we have more wins than the past two seasons, it will be a success.”

 “We’ve had some good moments over the last few years, but the challenge for us from here is to keep growing and showing more consistency,” said Coach Keith Danley. “We are striving to have our results this fall show our progress.”

Chatham continued its PAC play in the right direction with a 2-0 win against Waynesburg at Graham Field. Men’s soccer was then 2-1 in conference play and had an overall record of 5-4-1, putting them fourth in conference standings. 

It’s certain this squad’s success will leave its legacy with the program well after this season.