A Promising New Season for City College’s Soccer Beavers:
Graphic By Marcus Morales
By Steven Hernandez
The 2026 Men’s soccer season is officially back, and pre-season games have been ongoing for a couple of weeks now. City College’s very own team is looking to have a promising year this time around, coming off a narrow defeat in last year’s CUNYAC Championship game. With many seniors leaving after their final season, the Beavers have brought in 14 new recruits who will become the face of the school’s soccer team. As it stands, the new team’s record shows an optimistic future performance.
One month into the new season, the Beavers now have a couple of games under their belt. Their current standing of one win, two ties and three losses, is a stark difference from last year’s performance over the same time period of four losses and two ties.
The game against St. Joseph’s on September 5, may be considered the Beavers’ best performance yet, where the Beavers were ahead by two goals before being caught up to in the final 15 minutes of the game. After this game, Coach Gonzales says he’s optimistic about the team’s chances to push further ahead than what was accomplished in last year’s season.
“We’re still trying to find our identity…we’ve only been together for, like, three weeks.” With a fresh season kicking off and many new sophomore recruits, the team is working to find its true chemistry. Soccer is a team sport that requires all players to be in tune with each other. With more games coming up soon, Coach Gonzales is expecting things to fall into place. “The more we play, the more we practice with each other, the better the team is going to be.”
With many new and returning faces on the team, there are a few players to look out for this season. Axel Vasquez, the new goalkeeper, is looking to fill the big shoes left by Carlos Garcia, who had over 200 saves last season. A strong midfield is anchored by Juan Lucero at number 2, Alexis Penaranda at number 8, and returning junior Fausto Rodriguez at number 11. A strong forward line is set with number 10, Konstantinos Psomaras, who scored the winning goal against Pratt University in the first game of the season and doubled the score against St. Joseph’s.
After being asked if he can get this new Beaver’s team to the CUNYAC Championship, Coach Gonzales stated, “I think the time is now; I think we have what it takes to go all the way,” believing that this team can get the Beavers the trophy they haven’t won in 10 years. With 28 total players, the Beavers soccer team is preparing to come back stronger for the championship they fell short of last season.
Steven Hernandez is a freshman at City College, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Specializing in sports reporting, he is currently following CCNY’s men’s soccer team with plans to follow more teams within the Beavers. Steven is also a full-time employee and a full-time student at City College.
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