Early in 2025, Marist men’s soccer reached new heights. The Red Foxes started the year 6-0-2, good enough to earn the first national ranking in program history at No. 17. Marist proceeded to go 4-4-2 in conference play and missed the Metro Conference playoffs, a huge disappointment after a remarkably good start.
The season ended with a 3-0 win over Saint Peter’s, but other results around the conference kept the Red Foxes out of the playoffs. Senior defender and one of this year’s captains, Ethan Ortiz, recounted what that moment was like.
“I remember watching the other games play out, and we were all devastated,” he said. “We made a promise to each other that we would come back and work our butts off.”
Despite leading 1-0 against Fairfield, Merrimack, Siena and Manhattan, respectively, Marist did not win a single one of those four games. Some of those struggles may have been connected to the pressure surrounding being ranked so highly.
“There were a number of games last year where we went up but couldn’t get a second goal and let teams hang around, then ended up on the wrong side of a result,” said head coach Matt Viggiano, whose side lost the games against Fairfield and Siena. “We felt some pressure internally. Every time everybody played us, it was like their World Cup. This year will be fun, cause we’ll be the ones hunting instead of being hunted.”
Junior goalkeeper Alex Murania shared that the mood amongst the players is similar.
“The returners that are here definitely remember that; we won’t forget the teams that had no mercy for us,” he said. “That’s part of competing; that’s what we love.”
Speaking of returners, there are simply not many this year for Marist. The Red Foxes lost numerous key pieces in the offseason. Star attacking midfielder Kyle Evans, who tallied seven goals and four assists last season, left college soccer and signed a pro deal with Westchester SC. Goalie Jamie Lowell, defender Liam Evans, midfielder Skylar Cunha and attacker Jonathan Salguero all graduated — the four combined for over 4500 minutes in 2025. Midfielder Arion Ulaj transferred to NYU, where he is no longer playing soccer.
Looking at the 2026 roster, only nine players are juniors or older, including just a single senior, Ortiz, and a pair of graduate students, midfielder Gijs Velings and defender Mani Diop. Combining the amount of youth and the number of gaps there are to fill on the team, Viggiano highlighted a need for the team to evolve.
“We’ve got some pieces. It’s going to be interesting to see how we evolve as a team,” he said. “There’s maybe three spots where you’d say, ‘yeah, that guy’s going to play there.’”
Plenty of evolution is required for this team to succeed, but Marist’s squad doesn’t seem worried. Part of that comes with the tightness of the group, something that multiple players have already mentioned as being better than last year.
“Last year we already had nine or 10 starters locked in, so the group was kind of separated between newcomers and returners,” said Murania. “The leadership between the new guys and older players was divided. It ultimately caught up to us when we needed it.”
Ortiz expanded on the concept.
“There’s a lot more competition, which can only help a team,” he said. “It’s really going to help guys push each other so we can get the best out of everybody.”
Viggiano has kept his side playing in his traditional 4-2-3-1 formation so far throughout preseason, although there’s been plenty of rotation as the staff looks to find the right combination to get the most out of the talent available. There are position battles up and down the field, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. The goalkeeper position is certainly one to watch, although Murania seems to be getting the nod as the season draws closer. His 18 total minutes of in-season experience are not a lot, and he didn’t face a single shot in those 18 minutes, but he feels ready to take the spot over sophomore Samuel Amyot and freshman Gavin Mitlitski.
“I got the chance to learn and develop over the last two years, talking with Jamie [Lowell] about the mental side of the game,” he said. “I think the spring helped me prepare. I’m going to make the most of it.”
The four-man back line is pretty solidified heading into the year, with wingbacks sophomore Will Salivonchik (right) and junior Evan Marques (left) likely retaining their starting jobs from last year. Ortiz is at the heart of the defense at center back and sophomore Miles Douglas is likely to be next to him. Graduate student Mani Diop could absolutely feature as a center back, and redshirt freshman Dylan Gugin will be seen filling in at either wingback position. Freshman Cole Caviness adds depth to the backline as well, and has seen good time on the field this preseason.
Losing Cunha hurt the defensive midfield depth heading into the year, but the additions of graduate student Velings and junior Nathan Karangawa help to re-up that position for Viggiano. Karangawa is the first junior college transfer that Marist has brought in since 2018, when goalkeeper Svyatoslav Kozak joined from Monroe College.
That pair, alongside freshmen midfielders Seth Hadeed and Tucker Nakazono, give the Red Foxes plenty of options.
Junior Caio Cavaletti and Hadeed are the two main options in the other spot in midfield, with the two likely to split time as Cavaletti’s versatility allows the coaching staff to try him out wide. Junior Chris Verheul, who was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Forwards to Watch List, will sit above them as the playmaker.
The attack looks simple on paper when examining the 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 formation that Viggiano puts out, but with rapid speed on the wings and fluidity in the positions, Marist’s attack can strike in a number of ways. Junior Gijs Verheul is moving up to be a striker this season after starting his career as a center back and moving up to midfielder, but is not likely to face much adjustment, especially after scoring a pair in a pre-season friendly against Monmouth.
Junior Adrianno Iannello, who was named to the Preseason All-Metro Conference Team alongside Gijs Verheul, will wear the No. 10 shirt this year and start out wide. His Canadian compatriot, freshman forward/winger Rafael Coulanges, has started on the opposite flank, injecting the attack with plenty of speed. Fellow freshman winger/defender Sammy Ramirez, who is academically ineligible to begin the year but will join the team towards the start of September, is another strong option alongside sophomore winger/forward Ronan Hogg to provide depth on the wings.
Marist’s schedule this year is definitely more advantageous than last year’s, even if solely in terms of travel. After opening their preseason schedule with a loss against Syracuse on Aug. 7, the Red Foxes don’t leave campus to play until Sept. 4, when they take their one big trip of the year. The month of August included friendlies against Monmouth and Army, both of whom Marist beat 3-1, as well as the season opener against Stony Brook and a pair of home games against Air Force and Cornell.
Marist began its season last year by beating Stony Brook 1-0 on the road, with Marques scoring the only goal off assists from Chris Verheul and Iannello.
After playing Cornell, the Red Foxes head out west, taking on Saint Mary’s (CA) and San Francisco. Marist lost its one matchup against Saint Mary’s 2-0 back in 2018, also in California. The Red Foxes have never played San Francisco. A matchup at home against Albany, whom Marist also beat in 2025, concludes the non-conference slate.
“Of course it’s good to win the non-conference games, but we need to be fresh mentally and physically to prepare for the Metro games,” said Chris Verheul, who wants to prevent a drop-off in form akin to that of 2025.
In the newly renamed Metro Conference, Marist does not have a lot of traveling to do. Last year, three out of the five away games required an overnight trip, which takes a heavy toll on a team. This season, the only such trip takes Marist out to Buffalo to play Canisius, as the rest of the Red Foxes’ in-conference away games are a day trip’s distance away.
“Last year, the fact that we were on the road so much, we had three overnights in the league; all the big trips took a bit out of us,” said Viggiano. “Home cooking is always a good thing. The best teams do really well at home.”
Marist tied for fifth in the Metro Conference Preseason Poll with Quinnipiac, one spot lower than last year.
Marist’s home conference games open with Mount St. Mary’s, a team it beat 2-1 on the road last year in the Red Foxes’ last win of their undefeated run to open the year. Iona visits Poughkeepsie during Family Weekend, marking the first time the two teams will meet since Iona beat Marist in the semifinals of the 2024 season. Marist concludes its schedule at home against rivals Siena; the Red Foxes are winless against Siena since 2021, and their last home win came back in 2019.
In the final fall-only season of NCAA Division I men’s soccer, a trip back to the conference playoffs is a minimum for Viggiano, who still has the distaste of last year on his tongue.
“The expectation is to be in the conference tournament,” he said. “That’s where last year was a complete disappointment. We were more than good enough.”
Marist kicks off its season against Stony Brook at home on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Isabel Cortese
Photos from Marist Athletics
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X, TikTok and Bluesky, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.