Nov 24, 2025
The Paul Smith’s men’s soccer team gathers for one last pregame pep talk at USCAA Nationals. (Provided photo — PSC/Marco Napoleone)
CORAOPOLIS, Pennsylvania — The Paul Smith’s College men’s soccer team finished its season at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Division II Soccer National Tournament on Nov. 14 and 15, dropping games to tournament champion Central Maine CC and Penn State Lehigh Valley.
The Bobcats suffered a 2-0 loss to Central Maine CC on Friday, Nov. 14 on the first day of the tournament. The Mustangs were, up to that point, used to blowing teams out, but the staunch PSC defense anchored and Bobcat goaltender Cazimir Couble of Spofford, New Hampshire, kept the game close. Couble ended up with 17 saves — a USCAA Men’s Division II Soccer National Tournament record.
Saturday’s game against Penn State Lehigh Valley was even closer, with just a single goal separating the two sides by the time the final whistle blew as the Nittany Lions won 4-3.
After PSC went down 2-0 with goals in the 41st and 47th minutes, Kagan Hance of Chester, Vermont, converted a penalty kick for the Bobcats to halve the lead at 2-1. But two more goals in the 59th and 68th minutes meant an uphill climb for PSC to try and claw back.
The Bobcats played valiantly, but fell just short of the comeback.
Just a minute after going down 4-1, Maddox Johnson of Ellicottville scored his sixth goal of the campaign to halve the lead once again. Then, with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Tristan Schrieb of Greece, New York, put the Bobcats within one and gave them hope to equalize. Unfortunately, the tying goal never came, but the resilience and heart that the team showed to almost come all the way back from three goals down in the second half was inspiring to anyone watching.
First-year players and local talents Seb Cecunjanin of Lake Placid and Hyler Isham of Keene Valley spoke about their introductory season with the Bobcats and how it felt competing at nationals.
“I was nervous playing at nationals for the first time,” Cecunjanin said. “But I look at my team and I know that they have my back and that they’ll help me if needed — I learned that this is not just a team, it’s a family.”
“Everyone bought in, pushed each other, and made it feel like a family,” Isham said. “We would always hold each other accountable and we kept the energy positive no matter what — that mindset is what got us to nationals.”
The Bobcats finish at 8-10-2 overall and three players earned All-American honors. Nathan Wiley of Wareham, Massachusetts, Hance and Jacob Butler of New Gloucester, Maine received first team, second team and honorable mention, respectively. Wiley was a second-team All-American last season and was joined by Liam Curthoys (first team) and Nick Grover (second team). Grover went down with an injury before this season even started and Curthoys was out with illness for almost two months.
Wiley was injured late in the regular season after leading the team and the Yankee Small College Conference in goals and points early on. The junior midfielder was there supporting his teammates every step of the way after his injury and it shows the dedication that everyone has to each other.
“Our team is a very tight-knit group and we’re together almost every day,” Wiley said. “These bonds we have created off the field is why we have started to find real success on the field. Our culture has only improved and our mentalities have changed … there is less ego-driven soccer and we feel like a family now.”
The team experienced a Renaissance since head coach Chris George joined them at the beginning of last season. But the foundation for success was laid well in advance, as current athletic director and former head coach Zack Luzzi put pieces and players in place to help guide the squad to its current form.
“Over the last four years, the culture on the team has changed drastically,” Hance said. “Having a winners mentality is crucial to team success and morale, and I think that’s what we’ve adopted over the past year or two … everything switched from ‘playoffs’ to ‘winning a national championship,’” he added.
George was one of the pieces that seemed to transform the team into what it is today.
“When I was hired, the talent to compete for a national championship was already here,” George said. “There were two things I knew I needed to do right away: build a culture centered around relations, and set the standard of a champion’s mindset.”
Last season, George was named USCAA Men’s Division II Soccer Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding the team to its first-ever nationals appearance and an 11-3-2 overall record. George has instilled the “Way of Champions” model, popularized by the NBA and current Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and founded and developed by Dr. Jerry Lynch, the preeminent mind on team culture and success in athletics.
“Most of what we do is rooted in The Way of Champions and the core belief that everyone needs to feel relevant, important, valued, empowered and respected,” George said. “It has been a huge influence on the work our coaching staff is doing — that trust we place in the guys and the trust they have for each other — and you can see that in the strength of the relationships between the guys in the team.”
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