2025 Mens College Soccer Preview: Top New England Programs to Watch
Two New England programs have been named in the preseason top 10, while several others will look to defend their regular season league titles.
For New England, this has been a true summer of soccer. For the first time ever, the region saw four teams competing across the landscape of American professional soccer, while Vermont Green FC brought home a semi-professional title to the Green Mountain State.
Now, as the weather begins to turn and fall knocks on the door, another form of the beautiful game is ready to take the region by storm: Division 1 Men's College Soccer.
Last year, the University of Vermont Catamounts made history, becoming just the second-ever school in New England to win the College Cup. This year, they’ve earned the top spot in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, alongside another New England school that sits in the top 10.
There is bound to be some extremely high-quality soccer on display this fall at universities all across the region as New England continues to build its strong reputation for soccer. As the season kicks off, take a look at some key New England programs to keep an eye on this season.
University of Vermont
The Catamounts are the reigning NCAA Champions after defeating Marshall last year in the College Cup Final. In the aftermath of their historic and unorthodox run to the final as an unranked mid-major school, the University of Vermont has brought together the entire state of Vermont through high-quality soccer.
And now, after Vermont Green won the USL 2 Final at Virtue Field (the home of UVM soccer) this summer with the help of several Catamounts, many people are rightfully calling Burlington, Vermont by the name of Soccer City, USA.
After his rise to stardom, Head Coach Rob Dow has now set his sights on a title-defending season, and he’ll have some key returning pieces to help make that happen. Niklas Herceg returns in goal as one of the best goalkeepers in the entire nation. Last season, the German shot-stopper posted a 0.67 GAA along with six shutouts while earning a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team.
Along with Herceg in the back, German-born senior defender Nick Lockermann will captain the side. Attackingly, Dow has some serious options at his disposal, including Hungarian-born Marcell Papp who scored 5 goals last year and senior forward Maximilian Kissel, who scored the championship-winning goal for both UVM and Vermont Green this past year. With so much top-tier talent, it's easy to see how the Catamounts could go back-to-back.
The reigning champs opened up their preseason with a 2-0 victory over USF. They are set to begin regular-season play on August 21, with a matchup against Sacred Heart.
Yet again, the Catamounts have scheduled some difficult out-of-conference opponents. Dow’s side will visit Georgetown on September 1 before welcoming in Akron and Hofstra for back-to-back home games in mid-September, all of which should be good tests for the team as they strive to defend their title.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
2025 could be one of the most exciting campaigns in program history for the UMASS Amherst Minutemen. This comes after the team overachieved in 2024, going 5-2-1 in conference play.
And despite a loss in penalties at home in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, the Minutemen made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, taking down two top-ranked schools in the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia before falling to the mighty University of Denver in the quarterfinals.
This season, the program comes in as the eighth-ranked school in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, a testament to their potential. In addition to that, the Minutemen will be switching conferences, moving from the Atlantic 10 to the Summit League. This is a huge move for the program, allowing them to compete against top-tier opposition such as the University of Denver on a regular basis in a league that ranked third in overall RPI among the 22 Division I men's soccer conferences last season.
The Minutemen will be without their all-time leading goalscorer, Alec Hughes, who was drafted by LAFC in the 2025 MLS Superdraft. However, key seniors will be returning, such as the rock-solid Northern Ireland international center back Aidan Kelly who spent his summer with the Western Mass Pioneers, and midfield maestro Matt Cence, who posted eight assists across the 20 games he started last season for UMASS.
Goalkeeper Alex Geczy returns as a graduate student after making 68 saves last season. Despite the team’s competitive schedule that features daunting away days, these players could help take UMASS Amherst back to another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
University of New Hampshire
As of late, the University of New Hampshire has been a powerhouse of New England college soccer. The Wildcats play alongside the University of Vermont in the America East Conference, a league that they have won four times in the last seven years. Last season was the first year that the program missed the NCAA Tournament, crashing out of the America East Tournament in penalties to Bryant in the semi-finals. This year, Head Coach Rich Weinrebe will look to bring his squad back to where they belong.
Keep an eye out for several key players, including Clarence Loriot, who was identified as a United Soccer Coaches player to watch. The center back arrives in New Hampshire from Stetson University, where he was named last season’s ASUN Defensive Player of the Year. Running the show in the midfield will be Mattéo Brossel, a French-born graduate midfielder who was named to the 2024 All-America East First Team. Up top, watch for transfer student Elias Khodri, who led Gardner-Webb with nine goals last season.
UNH begins its regular season on August 21, when they welcome Boston University to Wildcat Stadium. Their most difficult stretch of the season starts with their fourth game, a road trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan where they will face off with the 20th ranked team in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, Western Michigan. Following that match, they head out West for a showdown with UC Irvine before returning home to take on the previous team on our list, UMASS Amherst. If Coach Weinrebe’s experienced team can get a few results from those three games, they could sneak their way into the national rankings early on in the season.
Honorable Mentions
Boston University are back-to-back regular-season winners of the Patriot League. Last year was an odd one for the Terriers, seeing them draw 10 regular-season games before falling to Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament semi-finals. The year before, they won the Patriot League Tournament and gave reigning NCAA champions Syracuse a run for their money in the first round of the national tournament on the road.
This season, fifth-year Head Coach Kevin Nylen returns three upperclassmen named to the preseason All-Patriot League team, including 2024 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Quin DeLaMater. But they’ll probably have to win more than four regular-season games (all they managed last year) if they want to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Last year’s Big East regular-season champions, Providence College, will look to have another strong season. The historic program is most well-known for their 2014 College Cup appearance and their MLS All-Star alumnus Julian Gressel.
This year, the Friars will be lead by Bruno Rosa, the Portuguese forward who lead Providence last fall with six assists, featured with USL 2 champions Vermont Green this summer, and was named a 2025 United Soccer Coaches forward to watch. Providence kicks off its season with a notable road trip to New Jersey to take on Rutgers before diving into Big East play on September 19 against Seton Hall in what is a strong college soccer conference. They will strive to advance past the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Clemson last season.
The University of Connecticut is the only other school in New England to have won a national championship besides UVM. Last season, the Huskies played some close games against top ranked opponents, tying 13th ranked Akron and losing by a goal to both the University of Vermont and Georgetown in the same week. The program has finished with at least a .500 record since 2021, and head coach Chris Gbandi will look to keep that track record going in 2025.
Redshirt sophomore Sabri Hanni is a name to remember, being identified as a United Soccer Coaches midfielder to watch after leading the team in goals last season as a freshman. UCONN begins their season against another strong program who hasn't quite been up to par as of late, making the trip up to Syracuse, New York for a battle with the Orange.